Miles Caton

Miles Caton (born March 3, 2005) is an American musician and actor. He gained recognition for his role as Sammie in Ryan Coogler's horror film Sinners, for which he received various accolades, including the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer and nominations for two Actor Awards and the BAFTA Rising Star Award.

Early life Miles Caton was born on March 3, 2005, in Brooklyn, New York City. He has stated that he came from an "extremely musical family" where every member "can sing or play some type of instrument." Both his mother, pastor Timiney Figueroa, and aunt, Anaysha Figueroa-Cooper, are successful and lifelong gospel singers. Caton began singing at the age of two, and performed a Sam Cooke song at the Lakeview, New York branch of the NAACP's 24th Annual Freedom Fund Awards Gala in October 2010.

Caton graduated high school in 2023, after returning from touring with the artist H.E.R.

Career

Music Caton gained fame in 2017 after a video of him singing Nina Simone's 1964 hit "Feeling Good" went viral and was sampled in the opening montage video for rapper Jay-Z's song "4:44". In March 2018, Caton appeared on the season three premiere of the NBC variety show Little Big Shots, performing Kurt Carr's "For Every Mountain." Caton was popular enough to return for the Little Big Shots holiday special in December, where he performed "O Holy Night". On Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2019, Caton performed live on The View alongside gospel singer Yolanda Adams, singing her song "Never Give Up".

In 2022, Caton toured with H.E.R. In 2023, Caton released his debut single "This Ain't It", which Zach Simmons of Enspire described as "[giving] the world just a taste of what they had been waiting on" featuring "a clean vocal performance reminiscent of legends Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway".

He released his single, "Somethin", on July 31, 2025. In March 2026, he signed to Columbia Records and released his major-label debut single "Don't Hate Me".

Film In 2025, Caton made his film debut in the Ryan Coogler supernatural horror film Sinners, alongside Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Wunmi Mosaku, Jack O'Connell, and Delroy Lindo. Caton's musical past played a large role as his character, Sammie, possesses a musical ability that transcends time and leads to the supernatural. Caton performed a number of songs within the film and on the soundtrack, as well as co-wrote the song "Last Time (I Seen the Sun)." He also learned how to play the guitar for the film, performing a substantial amount of acoustic guitar on the soundtrack. The film was met with critical acclaim and grossed over $360 million worldwide. The film achieved a number of box-office records and milestones, including having the biggest opening weekend for an original R-rated film of the decade and becoming the fifth highest-grossing horror movie of all time. Caton's performance was also met with praise and was featured on Variety and Time's Actors to Watch. He was awarded the Best Young Performer award at the 31st Critics' Choice Awards for this role. The film set a record by receiving 16 Academy Award nominations, the highest number in Oscar history.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos YearTitleArtistNotesRef.20174:44Jay-Z "Travelin'" "Juke""I Lied to You" "Last Time (I Seen the Sun)"

Awards and nominations

Film YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.2025 Actor Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Sinners Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Astra Midseason Movie AwardsBest Supporting Actor Austin Film Critics AssociationBest Ensemble Critics' Choice AwardsBest Young Actor/Actress Gotham Film AwardsEnsemble Tribute Fangoria Chainsaw AwardsBest Supporting Performance Indiana Film Journalists AssociationBest Supporting Performance Best Ensemble ActingBreakout of the YearMichigan Movie Critics GuildBest Supporting Actor Best EnsembleBreakthroughNAACP image AwardsOutstanding Breakthrough Performance in Motion Picture Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in Motion PictureOutstanding Performance by an Ensembled CastNew York Film Critics OnlineBest Ensemble Cast Breakthrough PerformerSaturn AwardsBest Young Performer In A FlimSCAD Savannah Film FestivalRising Star St. Louis Film Critics Association AwardsBest Ensemble Toronto Film Critics AssociationBest Breakthrough Performance Washington D.C. Area Film Critics AssociationBest Youth Performance Best Ensemble

Music (Sinners, written by Ludwig Göransson, Raphael Saadiq; performed by Miles Caton)