Michael B. Jordan shook up Oscar season as he took home the Actor Award for best male performance in a leading role. He won the statue for playing twin brothers Smoke and Stack in the supernatural thriller “Sinners.”
“I wasn’t expecting this at all,” he said from the podium at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Viola Davis, who presented the award, couldn’t contain her enthusiasm and let out a joyful scream as she read Jordan’s name from the envelope.
Jordan was a dual winner at Sunday’s ceremony, later returning to the stage for best performance by a cast in a motion picture. This is Jordan’s second victory in the ensemble category at the Actor Awards, formerly known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards, following 2019’s “Black Panther.”
While accepting his award, Jordan reminisced on wanting to earn a SAG card as a young actor. Though he didn’t mention the project that made him SAG eligible, Jordan broke out as a teen on the HBO crime drama “The Wire” and appeared on the ABC soap “All My Children” before starring on the beloved sports drama “Friday Night Lights.”
“It was this club I wanted to be in so bad,” he said in reference the actors’ union. “I remember watching all the other actors that I looked up to being a part of that club, being a part of SAG-AFTRA, being a part of this community. I was like, ‘Man, I want to be [in] that one day.’ Those guys on stage with the awards and nice suits… that’s what I always wanted.” He poignantly added, “That kid from North Jersey is standing here right now.”
Jordan then shouted out out his mom for “driving me back and forth to New York when we didn’t have enough money to go through the Holland Tunnel; when we were looking for gas money, parking spaces, when I went out there for auditions.”
In the lead actor category, Jordan’s triumph over Timothee Chalamet (“Marty Supreme”), Leonardo DiCaprio (“One Battle After Another”) Ethan Hawke (“Blue Moon”) and Jesse Plemons (“Bugonia”) was considered a surprise since he hadn’t won any precursor awards.
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“I’m so honored and privileged to be nominated in categories with people, actors and humans that I love,” Jordan said. “I love their work and what you contribute to our craft. This ride has been unbelievable. So thank you for welcoming me in and making me feel seen. Ya’ll know how I feel about y’all.”
“Sinners” is the fifth collaboration between Jordan and director Ryan Coogler following “Fruitvale Station,” “Creed” and two “Black Panther” movies. Jordan pulls off double duty in the 1930s-set “Sinners,” playing identical twins Smoke and Stack who return home to the South after World War I and open a juke joint… only for vampires to descend on the small town. The film, which earned a record 16 nominations at the Oscars, was up for five prizes at the Actor Awards. In addition to awards glory, “Sinners” has been a box office hit with $369 million globally.
“I want to thank you, Ryan Coogler, for giving me the opportunity to show what I can do, and to be fearless and to create a safe space for us to find the truth,” Jordan concluded before shouting out his co-stars. “Thank you for allowing me to do my best work. Just being in this room right now with all these people who have seen me grow up in front of the camera… I feel the love and support that you’ve always given me and encouraged me to do my best. Man, it’s pretty cool.”
From Variety US