Ryan Coogler talked about the intricate details he and Michael B. Jordan infused into twins Smoke and Stack in 2025’s ‘Sinners’. Both characters are played by Jordan but have distinct personalities brought alive by his immense talent.
One trick Jordan used to ensure the twins would feel different on screen? He wore different shoe sizes when portraying each twin.
Jordan wore shoes a full size too big when portraying Smoke and a half size too small when portraying Stack. For Smoke, the extra room slowed him down. “Smoke, with his shoes being too big, makes you not wanna move fast in any direction. You’re a little more planted, and sure-footed. That was important to have in their bodies,” Jordan said.
Stack’s tighter shoes helped Jordan find the restless energy of a brother who’s always adjusting his clothes, checking his appearance or moving on to the next thing. Coogler pointed out that Stack keeps fixing his suit and hat, while Smoke never touches his clothes.
That distinction extended to their hair. During discussions about the twins’ hairstyles, Jordan suggested that Stack would do Smoke’s hair because Smoke might not care enough about fashion to do it himself.
Jordan also used differences in speech cadence and facial expression, along with each brother’s childhood trauma, to separate his performances as Smoke and Stack, whose given names are Elijah and Elias Moore.
He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the dual roles.
