Michael B. Jordan has won his first Academy Award tonight, prevailing in the Best Actor category with his dual roles in Warner Bros.‘ Sinners.
Jordan has been a top contender this whole season, alongside Marty Supreme‘s Timothée Chalamet. Met with a standing ovation at the Dolby Theatre, he began his speech by saying “God is good,” and acknowledging his family in the room, including his father, who flew in from Ghana for the ceremony.
He then thanked Warner Bros.’ along with, Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, co-chairs and CEOs of its Motion Picture Group, “for believing in this dream, this vision of Ryan Coogler, and betting on the culture and betting on original ideas and original artistry. “
Turning to Coogler, he said, “You’re an amazing, amazing person. I’m so honored to call you a collaborator and a friend. You gave me the opportunity and space for me to be seen, and I love you too, bro. Love you to death.”
Jordan subsequently thanked the entire Sinners cast, including Wunmi Mosaku, “for giving Smoke the opportunity to be him,” and Hailee Steinfeld, who’s “at home, getting ready to have a baby right now,” and was “the other half of Stack.”
Jordan continued, “I stand here because of the people that came before me: Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Forrest Whitaker, Will Smith. To be amongst those giants, amongst those greats, amongst my ancestors, amongst my guys. Thank you, everybody in this room, and everybody at home for supporting me over my career. I feel it. I know you guys want me to do well, and I want to do that because you guys bet on me. So thank you for betting on me, and I’m going to keep stepping up, and I’m going to keep being the best version of myself I can be.”
Finally, Jordan thanked “everybody at home who supported Sinners and went to go see the movie once, twice, three, four, five times” for making the movie the sensation it’s been, saying, “I love you.”
Jordan’s work in Sinners has also led him to wins at the Actor Awards and NAACP Image Awards, along with nominations at the BAFTAs, Critics Choice Awards, and Golden Globes. His competitors for Best Actor included Chalamet, as well as Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), and Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent). Sinners made history this year in landing a whopping 16 Oscar nominations — the most ever. Other categories the film has won tonight, at time of reporting, include Original Screenplay, Cinematography, and Original Score.
Arguably one of the two buzziest films of the 2025-2026 awards season, alongside Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, writer-director-producer Ryan Coogler’s Sinners became one of the biggest studio original success stories in recent years upon its release last April, dominating the pop culture conversation and grossing over $369M worldwide.
Set in the Mississippi Delta during the early 1930s, the film follows Smoke and Stack, twin brothers (both played by Jordan) who return to their hometown after years spent working for Chicago gangsters, hoping to start fresh and leave their violent past behind. After converting an old sawmill into a juke joint meant to bring music, community and money back to the town, the club becomes a magnet not only for locals and traveling musicians, but also for mysterious outsiders who reveal themselves to be vampires, leading Smoke and Stack into a bloody fight to defend their community.
Up next for Jordan is a remake of 1968’s The Thomas Crown Affair for Amazon MGM, where he’s director and producer and stars opposite Adria Arjona.
English (US) ·