Michael B. Jordan says one habit helped him play his Oscar-winning roles

"I write a lot of journals for my characters, like backstories. So I try to go from, like, the earliest memory that I can conjure up and think of, and I write all the way up to the first page of the script. So it at least gives me an opportunity to kind of figure out like, you know, where they're coming from, and that informs a lot of their decisions."

"Smoke is a bit more, you know, he's quiet, he's a protector, and Stack is a little bit more light and buoyant, and a little bit of a slick talker and a troublemaker. So, I try to establish different perspectives. Building out the brothers' shared history helped him define their relationship and distinguish between the two characters on screen."

Michael B. Jordan, who won the Oscar for best actor for his performance in "Sinners," attributes his success to a deliberate character preparation method. He writes detailed journals for each character, beginning with their earliest memories and continuing through to the script's opening. This practice helps him understand their motivations and emotional foundations. For his dual role as twin brothers Stack and Smoke, Jordan employed additional techniques including chakra work to process their childhood trauma. He developed distinct personalities for each brother—Smoke as quiet and protective, Stack as lighthearted and talkative—and constructed their shared history to inform their on-screen relationship and interactions.

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