Sinners Writer Ryan Coogler Says He’s “Very Nervous” After Oscar Win

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Ryan Coogler stonefaced in close-up on the 2026 DGA Awards red carpet

Published Mar 15, 2026, 10:00 PM EDT

Autumn Hawkins is a journalist and editor focusing on trending topics in television and film. Autumn has over five years of experience and has written for broadcast, digital, and print. She has also conducted interviews with actresses Meagan Good and Paige Hurd previously.

Ryan Coogler won Best Original Screenplay at the 98th Academy Awards for Sinners and admitted during his acceptance speech that he was "very nervous."

He prefaced his speech with a joke about himself, “Please, please, please sit down, ’cause I’m very nervous and they’re gonna play me off. I grew up in Oakland, California, and we can talk a lot." The director then thanked the Academy as well as the rest of the nominees in the category.

"I wanna thank the Academy for thinking of our movie that came out almost a year ago. This is an incredible honor. I wanna thank my fellow nominees. I wanna thank y’all for the gifts that y’all movies were and for y’all’s friendship over the past years and months.

Coogler was nominated alongside Robert Kaplow for Blue Moon; It Was Just an Accident, written by Jafar Panahi with collaborators Nader Saïvar, Shadmehr Rastin, Mehdi Mahmoudian; Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme, and Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value.

The filmmaker then turned his attention to those who worked on Sinners and went on to “~~thank everybody that was involved in this movie~~,” including the cast, crew, and Warner Bros. “You guys are amazing. Oh my God, you are all winners in my book.” He ended his message by thanking his parents, wife, Zinzi, and his three children.

Zinzi, you’re the best wife and mom in the world. Every day I get to spend with you is better than the one that came before. And to my parents who are here, thank y’all for all the memories. Thank y’all for making me believe in myself. And to my babies that are at home watching, I apologize for all the time away. Dad loves you. Memories are all we have. I hope I’ve given you some great ones. And when dad becomes just a memory, I want y’all to remember this one thing: I love y’all more than anything.

Sinners is nominated for a record-breaking 16 awards, making it the most nominated film in Oscars history. Coogler's win is the first of the Sinners, with Ludwig Göransson also winning Best Original Score.