‘Sinners’ Star Miles Caton Is Proof That Dreams Can Become a Reality

Miles Caton went reaching for the stars and found more than he could have ever imagined.

Coming off of H.E.R.’s tour as a background vocalist in 2022, the 20-year-old actor-singer decided to shoot his shot and audition for filmmaker Ryan Coogler then-mystery project. But little did he know at the time that his quick video audition would turn into the role of a lifetime.

Caton scored his breakout role as Sammie Moore, starring oppositie Michael B. Jordan, in Sinners, which now holds the record for the most Oscar nominations of all time. As he looks back on the whirlwind of the past year, he tells The Hollywood Reporter that he’s truly “proud of the growth” he’s seen within himself.

“It is crazy because almost similar to Sammie’s in the way of, he had this idea of what he wanted and where he wanted to go, but he didn’t have any experience or any other knowledge that could really help him figure out what that actual looks like, and that’s kind of how I entered this process,” he says.

Below, Caton opens up about his reaction to Sinners receiving so much love this awards season, his preparations to take on the role of Sammie, his aspirations with music and more.

With Sinners, and all the love the film has received so far, you really made your acting debut in a massive way. Have you been able to wrap you heard around everything over the past year since the film’s release?

It’s still surreal, especially being in the thick of the award season and just constantly being at the award shows that I grew up watching and being home watching. So to be there in person and be on the flip side of things is all just a surreal experience. But the last year was life-changing. Before that, I was at home working on music. I had just got off tour [with H.E.R.] and this call came in for me to do this audition for this role, and I had no idea that it would leave me here. So it’s been life-changing for sure. An amazing experience!

Sinners earned 16 Oscar nominations this year, including best original song for “I Lied to You.” If asked, would you be down to perform at the Academy Awards in March?

A hundred percent. That would be crazy.

Have you been able to process the recognition you’ve already received personally for your role in Sinners, such as your Critics Choice win and BAFTA Award nomination?

It means a lot really. When I finished filming, the cast and Ryan and everybody was telling me I did a good job, but I really didn’t know. And one of the tail signs when you’ve done a good job is when your peers and the people that you’re in the game with can also acknowledge you and see the work that you’re doing. So being able to be a part of the nominations for BAFTA and being a part of the breakthrough and just having other people recognize the work that I’ve done, it means a lot.

Given that Sammie was your acting debut, what did your preparation process look like for the role? What chats did you have with Ryan going into filming?

It first started with me reading the script. After that, I jumped on a couple Zoom sessions with Ryan just talking through different questions that I have for him, getting his take on what the story is about, because when you read it at first, it’s so much to unpack and so many different characters that have their own stories within the film. So you kind of have to figure out what the actual theme of it is, what the actual goal is, especially for my character. So he was definitely helpful in answering some of those questions and giving me more context.

Then they connected me with Beth McGuire, who was an acting and dialect coach, and I worked with her for two months to prepare for the role. Just on the Mississippi accent and just being able to break down the script and use different emotions to apply to the certain scenes that we would do. I also worked with a guitar teacher to learn how to play blues-style guitar for the movie, so that was also a process. I would travel up to Philly every week, and then I would do Zoom sessions probably three times a week, and I would be practicing every day for about five to six hours a day. So it was definitely a lot of preparation, but it was a lot of fun. Ryan also sent me an essential blues playlist with Charlie Patton and Buddy Guy and B.B. King, and so I would listen to all of these blues artists every day to just become a part of that world.

I read that you learned to play blues guitar in two months for Sinners. Can you talk to me about how you accomplished that?

It definitely was challenging because a part of it is also understanding the scales and the notes and stuff. You can’t just start playing and you don’t know what you’re playing, so the first couple weeks was just conditioning my fingers, doing the different scales, the major scale, pentatonic scale, and once I got the grasp of that, it was using the slide. That was another thing, which was the brass instrument that they use to make the resonator sound like. It’s almost like it’s singing and there’s a certain technique that you have to do to get the right sound. So the guitar is very technical. As easy as it might look, it’s definitely technical. You get callouses on your fingersy our first couple weeks, so it’s kind of painful, but I was just in this mode. I just had to show up. I had to give a hundred percent.

Looking back, what are you most proud of about your performance as Sammie? 

That’s tough. I’m proud of the growth that I’ve had on this journey starting out. It is crazy because almost similar to Sammie’s in the way of, he had this idea of what he wanted and where he wanted to go, but he didn’t have any experience or any other knowledge that could really help him figure out what that actual looks like, and that’s kind of how I entered this process. Being new to acting and new to movies and being on a film set, all of that stuff was new for me, and it’s a big production. There’s Ryan Coogler, there’s Michael B. Jordan, Delroy Lindo, all of these incredible actors that I grew up watching. So it was definitely a lot of pressure, but I just chose to rise to the occasion and just put myself in a position to learn constantly, be retaining information and just doing my best. So I’m definitely just proud of the growth.

Knowing music has been a part of your life for some time, what’s been your reaction to all the love “I Lied to You” has been receiving? Especially with the Grammy nomination for best song written for visual media. 

It is a dream come true. I mean, Grammy’s been on the [vision] board since I can remember. That’s just crazy. I couldn’t even see this far past to the award season and all of this other stuff, so to be here, to be nominated, it is just amazing. I’m proud of the music that we created on this film as well. When I first read the script, there was no song attached to that surreal montage. And then once I heard “I Lied to You,” everything just made sense. It was everything that Sammie wanted to say in a song, and then you see it go through all the changes in music and just paying homage to the evolution of blues in music in general. So it was amazing getting to work on that.

Since Ludwig Göransson scored Sinners, what was that collaboration like, working on the the film’s soundtrack and the songs “Last Time (I Seen the Sun)” and “I Lied to You”? 

That was dope. He is an extremely collaborative person himself. He has a whole team and they found a bunch of musicians. Ddepending on what time I finished shooting, I would rush over to the studio and just try to see what he was working on and just get updates on the different things. There would be a new musician there every time, a new instrument. So it was really collaborative and it was really dope to be able to see his process, how he approaches things sonically. And he actually taught me “I Lied to You” on the guitar the first week we got out to film, and so it went off from there.

I don’t think it’s a secret music is a huge passion for you, so where did your love for music first begin, and when did you realize you wanted to make it a career?

It was pretty early. I come from a musical family and gospel music, and I grew up in church so that it’s always been in my life. I started singing when I was 3 years old, and my first song was a Sam Cooke song, so singing that at 3 years old, I just felt the lyrics and I remember performing it in front of a crowd and seeing the reaction. From then, I knew that this was something I wanted to do, and since then I’ve been pursuing it.

Compared to the blues music in Sinners, your personal music is more of a blend of soul, R&B and gospel. So for those who are just discovering your music, what do you want them to know about you as an artist?

I want them to know that I am a creative first, an artist first. When I go in to create my sound, I don’t go in with a specific agenda or motive to be in one pocket. Actually, we opened up for Coldplay as well while I was singing background for H.E.R., and we did a whole European tour, and that was definitely a turning point for me, just hearing their music, hearing the sonics and also seeing how it resonated with their audience. So just being able to have this diverse experience in music and genres, it kind of made me go back to the drawing board, and it reminded me that I don’t have to be boxed into one genre of music. My voice and my sound, it can be in multiple different pockets and be cohesive.

Can you tease any new music that might be coming out this year?

Definitely more music coming out really soon. Really soon. I’m working on the EP. It’ll be out summertime, and then I’ll be doing some other stuff after that, but I’m super excited for the project.

Coming off the success of Sinners, do you have a dream role or genre that you would love to take on in the future?

I would love to be in the MCU. That would be crazy. I love Marvel, love Marvel movie (Laughs). So that’s top for me, for sure.

Looking ahead, when do you hope to see yourself in five years career-wise? 

I hope to see myself thriving, touring, more movies, more music and just having fun. I’m definitely a thinker and sometimes can be an overthinker, but I’ve genuinely been trying to just be present and just have fun on the journey that I’m on. I’ve been doing this for a long time, but this year, or last year now, was such crazy momentum, just skyrocket to all of this now, and there’s still that grind and that hunger that I have to keep going, but also remembering to be present and stay in the moment and just have fun.

If you had to describe what makes Miles Caton, Miles Caton, what would you say?

My consistency, my family, my faith, and I think just knowing. A lot of times there can be doubt and stuff like that, but when you know something, you kind of just follow your heart.