Michael B Jordan has won the best actor Oscar for Sinners at the 98th Academy Awards, his first such honour. He triumphed over a strong field that included Timothée Chalamet for Marty Supreme, Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon and Leonardo DiCaprio for One Battle After Another.
Accepting the award, Jordan said 'God is good' and thanked his mother, with whom he had been sitting, as well as the rest of his family. He also paid tribute to Ryan Coogler, the film's writer and director, with whom he has collaborated five times, describing him as a collaborator and a friend.
Jordan, 39, becomes the sixth black actor to win the best actor prize, following Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Will Smith and Jamie Foxx. He acknowledged those predecessors and thanked his supporters, saying: 'I know you guys want me to do well, and I wanna do that because you guys bet on me. So thank you for keeping on betting on me.' He concluded by vowing to 'keep stepping up and keep being the best version of myself I can be'.
In Sinners, written and directed by Ryan Coogler, Jordan plays the dual role of identical twin brothers Elijah 'Smoke' and Elias 'Stack' Moore. This makes him the first actor to win an Oscar for portraying twins.
The victory capped a strong awards season for Jordan, which included nominations at the Baftas, Golden Globes and Critics' Choice, and a triumph at the Actors awards on 1 March. That win, shortly before Oscar voting closed, was widely seen as giving him crucial momentum in the final stage of the race.
