The essential Wunmi Mosaku watchlist – the performances that led up to her Oscar and Bafta nominations
As Sinners sweeps the board in the Oscar nominations, Helen Bownass sings the praises of its best supporting actor nominee.
It’ll come as no surprise to anyone who’s seen it that Sinners racked up a record-breaking 16 nominations at the 2026 Academy Awards and 13 Bafta nominations.
From Michael B Jordan’s recognition for playing twins (a lot of people’s happy place) to Ruth E Carter’s nomination for best costume design (making history as the most-nominated Black woman in Oscars history), director Ryan Coogler has proven that he’s making some of the most unique and ambitious films today, with the box office receipts to back it up.
One category I’ve been particularly thrilled to see Sinners showing up in was for best supporting actress, with Wunmi Mosaku getting the nod (alongside Elle Fanning, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Amy Madigan and Teyana Taylor).
The Manchester-born, LA-dwelling actor first came to my attention in 2016 for her searing role in Damilola, Our Loved Boy. And in every role since, from superhero series to social horrors, she’s brought intelligence, depth and heart.
If you’re just discovering Mosaku, and how lucky you are if so, here are some of her best roles.
Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Sinners (2025)
As Annie, a hoodoo healer, Mosaku is the emotional core of this vampire horror that’s set in the deep South in the 1930s. In scenes pulsing with chemistry, grief and spirituality, you can’t take your eyes off her, and the result is a film that turns everything you thought you knew about vampire films upside down.
Watch Sinners on Sky Cinema and Now
Boarders (2024-2025)
Don’t sleep on this brilliant comedy about a group of Black students who win scholarships to an elite private school. Mosaku joins the cast in season two as Grace, the mother of troubled lead Jaheim (Josh Tedeku).
Credit: BBC
Passenger (2024)
Set in Chadder Vale, a small town with a deep distrust of outsiders, this six-part horror-thriller sees Mosaku take the lead as former Met police detective Riya Ajunwa. She’s not had much to sink her teeth into, until one day a local girl disappears, then returns as if nothing has happened, but Ajunwa suspects something is off.
Loki (2021)
Mosaku takes a trip to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Hunter B‑15. She’s the head of the Time Variance Authority and determined to capture Loki (Tom Hiddleston) before pushing back against the system and fighting for the truth.
Credit: ITV
Lovecraft Country (2020)
Another genre‑bending horror, this series is based on the novel by Matt Ruff, and shines a light on Jim Crow-era America. Mosaku is Ruby, the older sister of protagonist Leti (Jurnee Smolettt) and a hard-working singer who gains the ability to transform into a white woman. It’s an unforgettable arc confronting the privileges and violence of race and gender in 1950s America.
Watch Lovecraft Country on Sky and Now
His House (2020)
This smart horror centres on a South Sudanese refugee couple (Mosaku and Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù) trying to rebuild their lives in Britain, only to discover their government‑issued home is haunted by an entity that forces them to confront the trauma they escaped. As Rial, she brings a quiet power and emotional depth to a woman navigating grief, displacement and supernatural terror. Watch, even if you hate horror.
Luther (2019)
Mosaku pairs up with Idris Elba in season five of the lauded BBC detective drama. She plays DS Catherine Halliday, a bright, principled recruit who’s pulled into Luther’s orbit during a wave of brutal killings, where she helps untangle a labyrinth of leads and manage her difficult boss.
The End of the F***ing World (2017)
Somehow I forgot that Mosaku starred in this darkly comic series about a teen psychopath starring Jessica Barden, Alex Lawther and Naomi Ackie. More fool me, as she’s great as a hardened murder squad detective. I clearly need a rewatch, stat.
Damilola, Our Loved Boy (2016)
Mosaku won a best supporting actress Bafta (hopefully not her first) for her powerful role in this drama based on a shocking true story. She plays Grace, who brings her 10-year-old son, Damilola, to London as they seek medical help for his sister, Gbemi. The film follows Damilola before he is fatally stabbed, and how that tears apart his grief-stricken family.
Images: Warner Bros. Pictures; BBC; Netflix; Sky
