Michael B. Jordan, who rose from a child actor into one of Hollywood’s leading men, won his first Oscar on Sunday, taking home the coveted best actor prize.
Jordan starred in a double role as the twin brothers Smoke and Stack in "Sinners," a favorite at the box office and among Oscar voters. The film won four awards Sunday night at the 98th Academy Awards in a monumental night for its cast, crew and director, Ryan Coogler.
Though it lost out in the best picture category to fellow Warner Bros. film “One Battle After Another,” it was still a successful evening for Coogler, who also wrote "Sinners" and took home the Oscar for best original screenplay.
Jordan and Coogler have emerged in recent years as one of Hollywood's most prolific duos and now have the hardware to show for it.
In his speech, Jordan said he was honored to call Coogler a "collaborator and a friend." He also thanked Coogler for giving him "an opportunity and space for me to be seen. I love you too, bro.”
Jordan got a standing ovation as he took the stage to accept best actor, and he began his speech by shouting out his mom, as well as his dad, who he said flew in from Ghana to see him win an Academy Award.
He also thanked Warner Bros. studio and co-CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy "for believing in this, this dream, this vision of Ryan Coogler and betting on the culture and betting on original ideas and original artistry."
Jordan beat out Timothée Chalamet for "Marty Supreme," Leonardo DiCaprio for "One Battle After Another," Ethan Hawke for "Blue Moon" and Wagner Moura for "The Secret Agent."
The competition was seen as neck and neck. Chalamet, Hawke and Moura all would have been first-time winners in the category.
"Sinners," an action-thriller extravaganza, sets Jordan's characters on two sides of a vampire apocalypse in Mississippi during the 1930s in the Jim Crow era. One must fight off the monsters, while the other has been turned.
Jordan's breakout role came in his teenage years by way of the HBO series "The Wire." He later joined the cast of NBC's "Friday Night Lights" for two seasons.
Jordan's first major role on the big screen was in "Fruitvale Station," which was also Coogler’s first big film. He rose to international fame with 2018's "Black Panther" and cemented himself as a star with the movie's sequel, "Wakanda Forever." Jordan also stars in the "Creed" movies. Coogler has directed all of Jordan's recent hits.
“I stand here because of the people that came before me,” Jordan said, calling out Black actors like Jamie Foxx, Will Smith, Sydney Potier and Halle Berry.
“To be amongst those giants, amongst those greats, amongst my ancestors, amongst my guides," he said. "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 keeping betting on me.”
