Los Angeles, April 9 (IANS) Hollywood star Michael B. Jordan has heaped praise on filmmaker Ryan Coogler and said that the director played an instrumental role in his success.

The 38-year-old actor has frequently worked with Coogler over the last decade such as ‘Creed’, ‘Black Panther’ and ‘Sinners’.

Jordan told ‘Extra’: “It’s extremely important to me … I feel like, at a time, earlier in my career when I was figuring out what type of actor I wanted to be, lead actor, you know, like where do I stand in the entertainment industry?”

“Only been a part of ensembles and in this nature, never opened a movie before, never been a lead of a film before, so I was searching for that and Ryan was the first director to believe in that, and tell me I was a movie star and believed it and made me believe it, you know?”

The actor features alongside actress Hailee Steinfeld in ‘Sinners’, a new horror movie set in the 1930s in Southern United States, and Jordan previously claimed that his co-star’s performance shows her “in a new light,” reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Jordan feels the project could actually prove to be a landmark in Steinfeld’s career.

He told WhoWhatWear: “Hailee’s performance in ‘Sinners’ is very, very versatile and honestly fun. I think it’s gonna make people lean in and get a chance to see her in a way they haven’t had an opportunity to see her in before.

“As you know, it’s tough to grow up in this industry where people get a chance to see you every step of the way, and they kinda have an idea of who you are and what you can do. I think this is one of those roles that’s gonna show Hailee in a new light.”

Jordan relished the experience of working with Steinfeld, saying that they developed a family-like bond during the shoot.

He said: “She’s extremely talented, an extremely hard worker, and a great scene partner.”

“When you’re on a project like this, in the midst of hard scenes to navigate, (and) balancing the emotional aspects and long days, you really get a chance to become a family. I’m extremely proud of her, and I can’t wait for the world to see her performance, and I truly can’t wait to see what she does next.”

–IANS

dc/