Michael B Jordan has won his first Academy Award, taking home the Best Actor prize on Sunday night at the 98th Academy Awards for his performance in Sinners.
The 39-year-old actor emerged victorious from a competitive category that included Timothée Chalamet for Marty Supreme, Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon, and Leonardo DiCaprio for One Battle After Another.
Collecting the statuette, Jordan paid tribute to his faith and family, thanking his mother, who was seated in the auditorium, and acknowledging relatives watching elsewhere in the theatre.
He also praised longtime collaborator Ryan Coogler, describing him as both a creative partner and a close friend, and crediting him for providing the space to grow as an actor.
The win places Jordan among a select group of Black performers to have claimed the Best Actor Oscar.
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He becomes the sixth, following figures such as Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, and Forest Whitaker.
In his speech, Jordan also acknowledged Will Smith and Jamie Foxx, thanking audiences for continuing to support his career and backing his ambitions.
In Sinners, written and directed by Coogler, Jordan delivers a dual performance as identical twin brothers Elijah “Smoke” and Elias “Stack” Moore.
The role has earned him a place in Oscar history as the first actor to win the award for portraying twins.
Jordan’s triumph caps a successful awards season that included major nominations at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the Golden Globe Awards, and the Critics Choice Association.
He also claimed the leading actor prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards earlier this month, a win widely seen as giving him decisive momentum ahead of final Oscar voting.
Closing his remarks, Jordan pledged to continue pushing himself, promising to keep improving and striving to be the best version of himself in the years ahead.