After winning his first Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Sinners on Sunday, director Ryan Coogler began his acceptance speech by mentioning his upbringing in Richmond and Oakland.
“Please sit down because I’m very nervous and they’re going to play me off,” Coogler quipped. “I grew up in Oakland and Richmond, California, and we can talk a lot.”
In his full remarks, Coogler thanked the Academy, his family, and the Warner Bros. team while praising his cast and crew as winners.
Although born in Oakland, Coogler moved to Richmond at age eight and was a student-athlete at Saint Mary’s College High School.Â
Coogler first rose to fame with his 2013 debut feature, Fruitvale Station. The film depicted the final day of Oscar Grant, a young man killed by a BART police officer in 2009. He then achieved major commercial success with Creed in 2015, which successfully continued the Rocky franchise. In 2018, he directed Black Panther, a cultural landmark that became the first superhero film to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.
