There is a long and ever-fluxuating list of actors who are overdue for their first Oscar nomination. One of those actors is Delroy Lindo. If there is any karmic justice, he’ll land his first nod for his fantastic performance in Ryan Coogler’s Best Picture contender, “Sinners.”
Lindo’s resume includes incredible work in a slew of Spike Lee films, including “Malcolm X,” “Da 5 Bloods,” “Crooklyn,” and “Clockers,” as well as Lasse Hallström’s “The Cider House Rules” and Barry Sonnenfeld’s “Get Shorty,” among others. In “Sinners,” Lindo portrays Delta Slim, a blues musician who, by 1932, has practically seen it all in his long and adventurous life. That is, until he agrees to perform with up-and-coming talent Sammie Moore (Miles Caton) at the new juke joint the Smokestack Twins (Michael B. Jordan) are opening. Especially after the arrival of Remmick (Jack O’Connell) and his unconventional clan.
During our conversation last month, Lindo reflected on what about Coogler’s screenplay spoke to him, how contemporary the period-set film is, what differentiates Coogler from the other directors he’s worked with, all the in-depth research that went into crafting Delta, and much, much more.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
_____
The Playlist: Did you ever think that this film would resonate as it did with audiences?
Delroy Lindo: I wasn’t sure that’s the honest answer. I was hoping that, and this may sound really dumb on my part or something, I was just hoping that audiences would not be expecting some version of “Black Panther 3.” I was hoping against all hope that they would accept this film on its own terms.
When you got the script, do you remember what surprised you the most?
I don’t know that I was surprised, but one of the things that popped for me, and I have a feeling I’m going to be saying this a lot to journalists, what popped for me was the fact that it was clear to me that he was using this genre as a conduit to tell a much larger and multilayered story that I got that very, very clearly. And I emailed Ryan about that, and he confirmed what my initial responses were to the narrative.
Can you expand on that? Because the movie I feel like touches on so many things, and in many ways, the subject matter is thematically timeless. But also…
Hold on one second. I want to jump in because I want to answer your question. It’s very contemporary. It’s a very, very contemporary story. And that is brilliant. That was the fact that it’s such a contemporary story steeped in history that jumped out at me, and I had to check with Ryan and say, “Man, this is what I’m seeing. Is this what you’re going after?” And he said, “Yes.” Right on, man. Right on.
Did you feel like you needed to do any of your own research for your character?
Oh yeah. Ryan sent me a book called “Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta” by Robert Palmer, and he sent me “Blues People” by Amiri Baraka, who, when he wrote the book, was LeRoi Jones. That’s where I started. When Ryan and I spoke, he said, “I want to send you these books.” He sent me the books, I read the books, and they were my point of departure. And my research then went on to encompass the music of people likeHowlin’ Wolf, Son House, Muddy Waters, and Ike Turner. I listened to a lot of the music from the region, the musicians whose work and lives are steeped in that area of the country. And I just wanted to connect with it as fully as I could, and that’s what I did.
Was there anything in terms of the history of these men that you used in your backstory for Delta? Or did you feel like it was all on the page in terms of what Ryan had written?
No, I had to do my own. I chose to do my own filling in my own biography, and I did that, but I was helped on that particular journey by my exposure to these books, my exposure to these men and their music and women and women. And there’s a moment in the script in the movie where Delta says he thinks he only has 10 more years to live. And in some respect, you could think that’s because he’s an alcoholic, I guess, and he drinks so much, and he knows that he can only laugh. But is there something else inherent in that he thinks he doesn’t have a long life? Did that matter to you? And playing him…
Did it?
Matter is the wrong word. I guess the idea that he sees his life as shorter versus longer, when in theory he could live much longer. Think about this. I think it’s actually very fundamental from the standpoint of, yes, I could have a longer life, but I think that perhaps I won’t have a longer life. And I think that’s connected to – and I’m just saying this now – in this moment [that scene], O.K., connected to the violence around which I’m living my life as manifested by that story that I tell in the car. And again, I’m saying this right now to you in this moment, but toward the very beginning of that monologue, I say to Miles’s character and Michael B.’s character, “I thought they won’t kill us that night.” I thought that was it. And so you taken through the lens of that comment, one could posit that death is right around any corner. And that’s part of the reason why [my character is] fighting so hard to preserve Preacher Boy because he’s the future. And I will ultimately, I will do anything I can to preserve that future, preserve him to save him from the forces that Remmick and his acolytes represent.
That absolutely makes sense. You’ve worked with so many great directors over your career. How is Ryan either different or similar to some of the filmmakers you’ve worked with previously?
I’m going to answer that question with a question.
Sure.
How many other directors do you know who are not yet 40 years old who have had the commercial, what is it, five films? The commercial and creative success that Ryan Coogler has? How many others do you know?
That are still under 40?
That are still under 40?
No, right now, I can’t think of one.
By himself, because there isn’t one. I don’t think I’m putting my foot in my mouth right now.
No, you’re not, there isn’t one under 40.
He is, to answer your question, singular in all of those regards. In addition to being extraordinarily – in my experience, and I’m sure the experience of the other actors – and incredibly open and faithful to his colleagues in the work process. And that’s a beautiful mix. It’s a pretty extraordinary mix. Look, work is never easy. It’s always challenging when things come up, but my God, if I’m going to be in the trenches with somebody navigating challenging material, one could do a whole lot worse than Ron Coogler. That’s for damn sure.
That’s an understatement in that context. I was just curious, though, is he a rehearsal type of guy? What is his process with actors?
In between the two. In between the two. And I think that his particular talents are such that he would adapt to whatever an actor’s process is. However, there’s always a connection to the whole. And so, therefore, he is always working in order to make the various components, to make the various actors and the various technical components in a given scene work in tandem. So, I would say he has an openness. There is rehearsal, but it’s not the sitting around the table kind.
When you saw the movie for the first time completed what got you excited about what Ryan and all of you had created?
You know what? It’s difficult for me to answer that question because the very first time I saw the film, and I’m being honest here, the very first time that I saw the film, there were moments in the film that had been cut out, and I needed to talk to Ryan about having those moments put back in if I could. If he was open to it, and he was. But I’ll tell you one thing, because I saw it at IMAX headquarters in Los Angeles, and it was clearly visually sumptuous. It was always going to be visually so sumptuous. And I do remember the sumptuousness of the experience, seeing it that first time, and that’s our DP, that’s Autumn Durald, and the brilliant job she did along with Ryan.
“Sinners” is available on HBO Max
Follow Gregory Ellwood on Bluesky
Follow Gregory Ellwood on Threads
Follow Gregory Ellwood on Instagram
Sign Up For The Breakdown Newsletter
