At just 39, Ryan Coogler has already broken records and garnered widespread acclaim, directing both Black Panther films as well as Creed, a spinoff of the Rocky series.
But he wasn’t always looking to be a filmmaker. Coogler originally went to college on a football scholarship and graduated with a finance degree. After a series of injuries, he decided he wanted to follow a different passion. During his undergrad, a teacher had noticed his creative writing abilities, pushing him to pursue screenwriting.
He began his master’s degree at the University of Southern California, one of the best film schools in the world, and debuted his much-lauded first feature, Fruitvale Station, in 2013.
Fun fact: Michael B. Jordan has starred in all five of Coogler’s features.