Michael B. Jordan made history on Sunday by becoming the sixth Black actor to win best actor at the Oscars. He was honored for his performance in Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler, with his mother in the crowd as he accepted the golden statuette.

Two other figures in Jordan’s life had long sensed the extent of his talent. His Newark Arts High School drama teacher, Carl Gonzalez, and basketball coach, Roger León, said in interviews with People that his potential was already visible when they first knew him. “His relationship with Ryan Coogler is not to be dismissed—not at all,” Gonzalez told the magazine. “Those two may end up being like Scorsese and De Niro.”

Gonzalez detected in a young Jordan a focus and work ethic that set him apart from his peers. “I’m not surprised by any of this,” he added. “The sky is the limit for this guy.”

The teacher met Jordan when he was a junior in high school and his career was already taking off. At the time, the young actor appeared in The Wire while continuing his studies, which prompted school administrators and teachers to work out solutions for him to balance his acting and schoolwork. “He was one of the first kids I had who was already a working actor,” Gonzalez recalled. “We had to come up with a plan with the principal—how does he get a grade, how does he get credit, how does he keep up with school while filming?”

León also has vivid memories of the teenager. “His love for basketball was comparable to his love of the work that he does in the arts,” he told People. “That passion has always been a driving force for who he is.”

“Even then, the compassion, the focus, the energy—the spirit by which he approached everything—was remarkable,” León continued. “He gave his all to whatever he was doing.”

Former classmates also praised his career and performance. “I’m proud to say he’s a friend and a brother figure to me,” said Prophet Kates, a former basketball player at Jordan’s high school. He added that Mike, as he knew him, had always been a mentor to younger students. “Mike always carried himself like someone people could look up to,” Kates said. “Even back then, he understood that people were watching him.”

Originally published in Vanity Fair France.