Michael B. Jordan has won the Academy Award for Best Actor at the Oscars, claiming the prize for his portrayal of twin brothers Smoke and Stack in the supernatural thriller Sinners. It is the first Oscar nomination and win of his career.
Jordan beat fellow nominees Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon) and Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent) to claim the statue.
The win makes Jordan the sixth Black man to triumph in the lead actor category, following Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker and Will Smith.
Michael B. Jordan pays tribute to Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington in Oscar speech
“I stand here because of the people that came before me,” Jordan said on stage, naming each man before also acknowledging Halle Berry, the first and only Black woman to win the Best Actress award. “To be amongst those giants, those greats, amongst my ancestors, amongst my guides… Thank you everybody in this room and everybody at home for supporting me over my career. I feel it.”
Jordan opened his acceptance speech with a note of gratitude. “Man, God is good. God is good,” he said, before acknowledging his family in the audience. “Momma, what’s up? You know how I feel about my mother. And my father is here. Pops, where you at? My dad came from Ghana to be here.”
He reserved particular praise for filmmaker Ryan Coogler, who has directed Jordan across five films, including Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. “You’re an amazing, amazing person,” Jordan said. “I’m so honoured to call you a collaborator and a friend. You gave me the opportunity and space for me to be seen. I love you too, bro.”
He closed by addressing the film’s audience directly. “Everybody at home who supported Sinners and went to see the movie once, twice, three, four times… thank you. You made this movie what it is.”
Michael B. Jordan entered the awards race as a late-breaking frontrunner after winning at the Actor Awards, formerly known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Prior to that ceremony, he had lost the BAFTA to Robert Aramayo of I Swear, the Golden Globe to Moura, and the Critics’ Choice award to Chalamet.
Set in the 1930s, Sinners follows identical twins Smoke and Stack, who return to the South after the First World War and open a juke joint, only for vampires to descend on the town. Jordan plays both roles in the film.
Sinners received a record 16 Oscar nominations and took home four awards on the night. At the box office, the film became a global success, earning $370 million worldwide.
“I want to do well because you guys bet on me,” Jordan told the audience. “So thank you for keeping betting on me.”
