Michael B. Jordan has won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in “Sinners” at the 98th Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
The win marks Jordan’s first Oscar. He prevailed over a competitive field of nominees that included Timothée Chalamet for “Marty Supreme”, Ethan Hawke for “Blue Moon”, and Leonardo DiCaprio for “One Battle After Another”.
Accepting the award on stage, Jordan began his speech with a brief expression of gratitude.
“God is good,” said Jordan on stage. “God is good.”
He then turned to address his mother, who had been seated with him in the audience, and acknowledged other members of his family attending the ceremony.
Jordan also paid tribute to director Ryan Coogler, with whom he has collaborated on five films.
Of Coogler, he said he was “so honoured to call you a collaborator and a friend, and to give me the opportunity and space for me to be seen. I love you too, bro.”
At 39, Jordan joins a small group of Black actors who have won the Best Actor Oscar. He becomes the sixth, following winners such as Forest Whitaker for “The Last King of Scotland” in 2007, Denzel Washington for “Training Day” in 2002, and Sidney Poitier for “Lilies of the Field” in 1964.
During his speech, Jordan also acknowledged those who had paved the way before him, including Will Smith and Jamie Foxx.
He thanked “everybody in this room and everybody at home for supporting my career. I know you guys want me to do well, and I wanna do that because you guys bet on me. So thank you for keeping on betting on me.”
Jordan concluded his remarks by promising he would “keep stepping up and keep being the best version of myself I can be”.
In “Sinners”, written and directed by Coogler, Jordan plays identical twin brothers Elijah “Smoke” and Elias “Stack” Moore. With the performance, he becomes the first actor to win the Best Actor Oscar for portraying twin characters.
Jordan’s victory follows a strong awards season in which he received nominations at the BAFTA Film Awards, Golden Globe Awards and Critics’ Choice Awards.
He also won the top prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on 1 March, a victory widely seen as giving him crucial momentum ahead of the final round of Oscar voting.
