Michael B. Jordan won his first Best Actor Oscar at the 98th Academy Awards for his dual role in Sinners, becoming the first actor to win for portraying twins. The film earned four awards, including a historic Best Cinematography win for Autumn Durald Arkapaw, while Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another led the night with six wins including Best Picture. Jessie Buckley and Amy Madigan also took home major acting awards.
After years of bringing memorable characters to life, he secured his first-ever Oscar for Best Actor for his dual performance as twin brothers Smoke and Stack in Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners.”
When he took to the stage, Jordan began with a moment of gratitude, repeating, “God is Good.” He looked towards the stalls to acknowledge his mother, Donna, and noted that his father had travelled from Ghana to be present for the ceremony.
In a particularly moving part of his speech, he turned to his long-time friend and director, Ryan Coogler.
“I’m so honoured to call you a collaborator and a friend,” Jordan said. “You gave me the opportunity and space for me to be seen. I love you too, bro.”
He also took a moment to recognise the legacy of Black actors who preceded him, citing giants such as Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, and Halle Berry. He concluded by thanking the public for their sustained support: “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 on betting on me.”
Sinners entered the evening as a record-breaker with 16 nominations and finished as one of the most successful films of the night, taking home four Oscars. Beyond Jordan’s win, Ryan Coogler earned his first Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Autumn Durald Arkapaw also made history as the first woman to win Best Cinematography, and Ludwig Göransson took home the award for Best Original Score.
While “Sinners” had a significant showing, the political thriller “One Battle After Another” was the biggest winner of the night with six awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson. Other notable wins included Jessie Buckley, who received Best Actress for “Hamnet,” and Amy Madigan, who won Best Supporting Actress for “Weapons.” Sean Penn was awarded Best Supporting Actor for “One Battle After Another,” though he was not in attendance to collect the statuette.
