Secret Detail in Michael B. Jordan’s Sinners Transformation Revealed

Oscars 2026: ‘Sinners’ Makeup Artist Reveals Secret to Michael B. Jordan’s Vampire Look

It was anything but a rocky road to the Sinners makeup trailer.

As prosthetics and makeup designer Mike Fontaine revealed at the 2026 Oscars, he and his team spent a whole lot of quality time with Michael B. Jordan, Jack O’Connell and more stars of the Ryan Coogler movie in order to pull off those jaw-dropping vampire transformations.

Although Jordan made it easier on the team for how he channeled his dual roles of Smoke and Stack.

“I don't know if anyone fully understands what it took to play both twins. I mean, the work that that man put in,” Fontaine told Zuri Hall during Live From E!: Oscars on the March 15 red carpet, “He's also a director, so Michael brings this really thoughtful perspective that makes my job easier. We work so hard on the fangs and the gold grills that kind of differentiate the twins. They each have their own specific grill.”

For Fontaine and fellow hair and makeup leads Shunika Terry and Ken Diaz, who are all nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the 2026 Oscars, keeping that attention to detail as the characters meet their fate was of the utmost importance.

In fact, given the grisly showdown at the juke joint between O’Connell’s vampire Remmick and the partygoers, Fontaine and his crew got to spend a whole lot of quality time with the Sinners cast as they worked out those intricate details.

“It was an enormous challenge, because almost everyone in the movie transforms,” he explained. “Oftentimes on a film, you're focusing on one character. By the time I got to the end of the script of Sinners, I'm like, ‘Oh my God, every single person's coming through our trailer. Wait, how many looks we doing today?’”

That process had some major silver linings, however, as Fontaine emphasized, “The great thing about that is we got to really connect with almost every member of the cast. There are only a few that got out of it without needing to get glue and blood and prosthetics. So it created a bond.”

And that bond continues to shine at the 2026 Oscars where Sinners is up for a record 16 awards. That includes a Best Actor nod for Jordan, with Delroy Lindo and Wunmi Mosaku nominated in the Supporting acting categories. Coogler himself is up for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, with the film also in contention for the biggest award of the night: Best Picture.

For all the stars stepping out for film’s biggest night, keep reading…