Two Michael B. Jordans Is Delightful, but This Breakout Star of ‘Sinners’ Is Even Better
Among the star-studded cast of Sinners is a newcomer who fits right in with the ensemble. The dual roles of Michael B. Jordan are an intense double act that headlines this showdown with vampires, with Delroy Lindo and Wunmi Mosaku bringing a world-weary view of life from the death of loved ones they have grieved. But the heart of the film is Miles Caton as Sammie, a young man who dreams of becoming a blues musician when he is thrust into a night of blood and fangs. His reality-shattering singing and guitar playing during that unforgettable, cinematic sequence doesn’t just rely on movie magic. Caton is a young actor who was perfect for the role with his vocal talent and innocence, which makes you fear for his safety once the vampires swarm in.
‘Sinners’ Is Miles Caton’s First Movie Role
There is an unofficial tradition of the horror genre giving a big break to actors before they were famous. Where his career goes from here remains to be seen, but Miles Caton’s first movie role to break into Hollywood is a horror film, one that is sinking its teeth into the box office to become a hit. Before he was introduced to audiences worldwide, Caton made a strong first impression on director Ryan Coogler, who told Variety that he remembered seeing in his audition tape, “This kid looked like he was in his basement, like in between homework assignments. But he had this voice — a once in a lifetime voice — and he also felt like the character.” That vocal skill is crucial to Sammie’s casting.
The prologue of Sinners establishes how different cultures revere a truly gifted musician who can blur the boundaries of the human world and the supernatural, inviting in ancestors, descendants, and more ominously, the evil creatures that lurk in between. Sammie unknowingly holds this special power as a young sharecropper in the 1930s Mississippi, whose father, the local pastor, rejects his son’s dreams of becoming a blues musician out of fear it will push him into a life of sin. In the first half of this period horror film, there is an eagerness and innocence to Caton’s performance en route to the grand opening of a juke joint owned by his cousins, the twins Smoke and Stack, played by an electrifying double dose of Michael B. Jordan. Despite the famous Black actors and actresses who are recruited by the brothers, Miles Caton stands out as a rising talent very much like his character.
On and off the Screen, Miles Caton Is an Incredible Musical Talent in ‘Sinners’
Religion is divisive in Sinners, with Sammie forced to struggle with the protection his father believes it offers and the sinister truth of how a prayer doesn’t defend Sammie against the master vampire Remmick (Jack O’Connell). In the same Variety article that mentioned Coogler’s comments on the young actor, Caton had a less aggressive religious upbringing, as he revealed he was the son of a gospel singer and continued the family legacy. “I grew up singing,” he said, “and I had the opportunity to go on tour and sing background for H.E.R. when I was 16 years old, and we traveled all around the world.” It was from the tour with the singer that got Caton noticed and led to him sending an audition tape.
When Sammie lets out his deep voice as he performs a blues song for Stack, it’s a beautiful voice that soars off the screen in an early scene that builds the anticipation of what he can do at the juke joint. But the young man’s story arc becomes more complex with a romance that grows with singer Pearline (Jayme Lawson), and learning the twins will only let Sammie perform for one night and demand he change his dreams. Caton’s novice acting experience becomes a strength in Sammie’s journey, where he is made out to be the younger and inexperienced one among the surrounding characters who have been hardened by life or think they know what’s best for him. Even when the vampires crash the party, it is not enough to dissuade the musician from dropping his bloodstained guitar, playing into the crux of this film.
Sammie Has an Important Role in Tying Everything Together in ‘Sinners’
Those left standing inside the juke joint rally together to become vampire hunters, but Sammie is a reluctant one. When Pearline denies eating garlic to test out if she’s been turned, Sammie tries to defend her, only to get a gun smashed into his face by Smoke. He’s not made for a life of violence, he is made for the blues.
Beyond Caton’s performance making you want to see him survive, it also wants you to see him pursue his dreams of a music career. The determination he portrays becomes an inspiring act of perseverance that comes full circle in the ending, where Sammie is shown as an elder survivor who got what he wanted. Audiences may sit down for Sinners to watch Michael B. Jordan and the other well-known cast members, who all deliver great horror performances, but Caton makes sure you know his name with his breakout role when the credits roll.
