Michael B Jordan has won the best actor Oscar for his dual role in Sinners at the 98th Academy Awards. The 39-year-old actor becomes the sixth black actor to win the award, joining a distinguished list including Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Jamie Foxx and Will Smith.
Jordan 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. He is the first actor to win the Oscar for playing twins, portraying identical brothers Elijah 'Smoke' and Elias 'Stack' Moore in the film written and directed by Ryan Coogler.
In his acceptance speech, Jordan said: 'God is good. God is good.' He addressed his mother, who was seated in the stalls, and shouted out to the rest of his family. Of Coogler, with whom he has collaborated five times, Jordan said he was 'so honoured to call you a collaborator and a friend and give me an opportunity and space for me to be seen. I love you too, bro.'
Jordan thanked 'everybody in this room and everybody at home for supporting my career. 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 with a promise to 'keep stepping up and keep being the best version of myself I can be.'
Jordan had a strong awards season, with nominations for the Baftas, Golden Globes and Critics' Choice, and a win at the Actor awards on 1 March. That victory was seen as giving him crucial momentum in the final stage of the race.
