THE RUNDOWN
First-time Oscar nominee Michael B. Jordan won Best Actor at the 2026 Academy Awards.
Jordan was honored for his performance in Sinners.
During his speech, Jordan said, "I know you guys want me to do well, and I want to do that because you guys bet on me."
Michael B. Jordan has done it. In one of the most talked-about Academy Awards races of the season, theSinnersstar ultimately took home the Best Actor statuette for his dual performance as identical twins Smoke and Stack in Ryan Coogler's acclaimed horror drama. As he ascended the stage to accept the award, Jordan repeated, "God is good."
In the lead-up to tonight's ceremony, it seemed the Best Actor winner might be anyone's guess. Early in the race,Marty Supremestar Timothée Chalamet won both aCritics Choice Awardand aGolden Globefor his performance, which seemed to cement him as the favorite for Best Actor at the Oscars…at least until Robert Aramayo ofI Swearwon the category at the BAFTAs, then Jordan himself claimed Best Actor at theActor Awards. (The Secret Agentstar Wagner Moura, who was also nominated for Best Actor at tonight's Academy Awards, similarly won a Golden Globe alongside Chalamet in January.) Ultimately, Jordan's momentum post-Actor Awards helped propel the first-time Oscar nominee to a victory tonight.
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"I know you guys want me to do well, and I want to do that because you guys bet on me," the actor said as he accepted the honor. "So thank you for keeping...for keeping betting on me. And I'm gonna keep stepping up."
He also took a moment to acknowledge trailblazing Black actors who won the Best Actor Oscar before him: Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, and Will Smith. He also honored Halle Berry, the first Black woman to win Best Actress.
Read his full speech below.
"God is good. God is good. Yo, Mama, what's up? Y'all know how I feel about my mother. And my father's here. Hey, Pops, where you at? My dad came in from Ghana. My brother and sister's here, my family. I want to thank Warner Brothers. I want to thank Mike [De Luca] and Pam [Abdy] for believing in this dream, this vision of Ryan Coogler, and betting on a culture and betting on original ideas and original artistry. [Ryan], you're an amazing, amazing person. I'm so honored to call you a collaborator and a friend. You gave me the opportunity in space for me to be seen. And I love you, too, bro. Love you to death.
I would like to thank my incredible cast. Wunmi [Mosaku], thank you so much for giving Smoke an opportunity to be him. Hailee [Steinfeld] at home, you know, she's getting ready to have a baby right now. Thank you so much for being the other half of Stack. Miles [Caton], Delroy [Lindo], Jayme [Lawson], Li Jun Li…
Hoo, man, y'all. I stand here because of the people that came before me. Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Forest 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 keeping betting on me. And I'm gonna keep stepping up. And I'm gonna keep being the best version of myself I can be. So I just wanna say thank you for everybody in this room that has something to do with my success. I love you guys, and everybody at home who supportedSinnersand went to see the movie once, twice, three, four, five times, thank you, 'cause you guys made this movie what it is. I love you. I love you. I love you."
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