Michael B. Jordan won his first-ever Oscar for Best Actor at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday. He secured the victory for his dual-role performance in the Ryan Coogler-directed supernatural thriller “Sinners.”
The win cemented two historical milestones for the Academy. Jordan became the first actor to win an Oscar for portraying twins, playing the characters Elijah “Smoke” and Elias “Stack” Moore. He also became the sixth Black man to win the Best Actor category.
Jordan delivered an emotional acceptance speech during the broadcast. He opened his address with “God is good,” before thanking his parents, his family, and Coogler.
Addressing his supporters, Jordan stated, “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 keeping betting on me. And I’m gonna keep stepping up.”
During his speech, he paid tribute to the five previous Black Best Actor winners: Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, and Will Smith.
Jordan entered the ceremony with momentum from a recent Screen Actors Guild Award victory. He won the Oscar over nominees Timothée Chalamet for “Marty Supreme,” Leonardo DiCaprio for “One Battle After Another,” Ethan Hawke for “Blue Moon,” and Wagner Moura for “The Secret Agent.”
Following the announcement, broadcast footage captured Jordan sharing an embrace and a fist-bump with DiCaprio.
“Sinners” entered the Sunday ceremony with a record-breaking 16 nominations.
Overnight, Jordan celebrated the milestone by visiting an In-N-Out Burger. He was photographed posing with his golden statuette at the counter while wearing his custom Louis Vuitton tuxedo.