Ryan Coogler's success has taken a toll on his family life
The 38-year-old filmmaker has enjoyed huge success in his career, directing movies such as 'Creed' and 'Black Panther' - but Ryan admits that his success has come at a cost
11 April 2025
The award-winning director - who was born and raised in California - told Deadline: "My ambition as a kid, it was to be a source of my family coming together. They would come together at my football games and if I did something at school. But as I got older, it became something that caused me to go away from it, physically.
"I go away to college. I fall in love with film-making. I move away to Los Angeles. I make movies and nobody ever sees me anymore."
Ryan became increasingly distant from some of his family members as he became more successful.
The 'Sinners' director also remembers how his family helped him through some of the most difficult times in his own life.
Ryan - who has been nominated for two Academy Awards in his career - explained: "It was a guilt that I harboured and especially a guilt towards that house that I used to walk to, because a lot of them started to die. I missed a lot.
"My uncle had two sons, my uncle Rodney, who I was real close to, he passed away and I missed his funeral. I had a film class that I couldn't miss.
"My uncle Mark passed away and I couldn't be there when he died. I went to his funeral, but I couldn't dress up for it. I just came straight from a film set. And then my Uncle James died while I was in Los Angeles at Wildfire Studios, picture locking 'Creed'. And I remember getting a call and just feeling like s***."
"Being away from my family, again. And he would send me motivational messages, while I was in Philadelphia for 'Creed' when he heard I was homesick. And he would tell me, hang in there. He would quote blues songs. Hey, hang in there. Like Albert King says, everything's going to be okay. That was his thing."
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