Oscars 2026: Michael B Jordan's Best Actor Win Was The Moment Of The Night
In the lead-up to this year’s Oscars, it looked like the Best Actor prize could have gone in one of several directions, after previous wins for Timothée Chalamet, Wagner Moura and Michael B Jordan at various awards shows over the last few months.
At Sunday night’s Academy Awards, it was Sinners star Michael who came out on top, in one of the night’s most memorable and emotionally-charged moments.
The US star was visibly stunned when his name was called by last year’s recipient Adrien Brody, first pausing to share the moment with his mum, who was seated to his right, before being wrapped up in a hug by Sinners director Ryan Coogler.
He and co-star Delroy Lindo then also shared a moment before Michael headed up to the stage to collect his award – but what really came across was just how much love there was for the Black Panther star from the whole auditorium.
Michael B. Jordan receives a massive round of applause from the entire room as he wins the #Oscar for Best Actor.
— Variety (@Variety) March 16, 2026
(via ABC/AMPAS) pic.twitter.com/TpPrBBU3OB
Meanwhile, in his acceptance speech, he paid homage to the Black performers who have won Oscars for their leading performances in the past, name-checking Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker and Will Smith.
Michael B. Jordan just thanked all six Black winners in the Best Actor and Best Actress categories during his own Best Actor speech:
— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) March 16, 2026
"I stand here because of the people that came before me. Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, Will Smith.… pic.twitter.com/4gtBrUlM6g
Michael played twins Smoke and Stack in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, which made Oscars history as the most-nominated film ever at the Academy Awards.
In the end, it triumphed in an impressive four categories in total, but One Battle After Another was the year’s big winner, picking up six awards including Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson and the coveted Best Picture prize.
Sean Penn also won his third Oscar on Sunday night for his work in One Battle After Another (but didn’t attend to accept it in person), while the hotly-contested Best Supporting Actress went to Amy Madigan for Weapons, over One Battle After Another’s Teyana Taylor and Sinners’ Wunmi Mosaku, as well as Sentimental Value’s Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas.
Meanwhile, Frankenstein came away with three technical prizes, and family favourite KPop Demon Hunters won two awards in total.
Take a look at our round-up of all the winners from the 2026 Oscars here.