Ryan Coogler has shared what he learned while working with Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer on his debut film Fruitvale.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, filmmaker Spencer called him one of the most important lessons in filmmaking.
During the chat, he reflected on a scene from 2013, recalling a pivotal moment that changed the way he approached his actors.
“I tried to direct her too much,” Coogler said.
He reportedly struggled to complete this scene and was micromanaging her until she asked him for space to play a take for herself and impressed everyone with her take.
“It was perfect. It went straight into the movie,” he added.
This special moment with Spencer reportedly created a ripple effect that has since influenced every project in Coogler’s filmography, including Michael B. Jordan’s. Sinners.
“Every time I’m on set, I think about Octavia,” he said, noting that “there’s a direct line to an Angela Bassett line reading in Wakanda Forever, to pretty much every performance in Sinners.”
