From The Wire to Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther, the Academy award winner has amassed a body of work that straddles commercial and critical success
• Oscar winners 2026: the full list
• Sinners’ Oscar triumphs show that Black cinema is now a vital and valid part of Hollywood

Michael B Jordan’s best actor Oscar places him in an exclusive club . Only five black actors have won the award before. He now sits on a list that includes Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, Denzel Washington and Sidney Poitier, the first black winner for Lilies of the Field in 1964.

But less than a month ago, it seemed unlikely. Jordan’s success at the Actors awards was the first serious hint that he could beat Timothée Chalamet, who had won at the Golden Globes and was the frontrunner for much of the awards campaign. But Chalamet, who made a few missteps on the campaign trail , was up against one of the most well-loved actors operating in Hollywood. Jordan is someone who at only 39 years old has managed to amass a body of work that straddles commercial and critical success.

From The Wire to Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther, the Academy award winner has amassed a body of work that straddles commercial and critical success
• Oscar winners 2026: the full list
• Sinners’ Oscar triumphs show that Black cinema is now a vital and valid part of Hollywood

Michael B Jordan’s best actor Oscar places him in an exclusive club . Only five black actors have won the award before. He now sits on a list that includes Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, Denzel Washington and Sidney Poitier, the first black winner for Lilies of the Field in 1964.

But less than a month ago, it seemed unlikely. Jordan’s success at the Actors awards was the first serious hint that he could beat Timothée Chalamet, who had won at the Golden Globes and was the frontrunner for much of the awards campaign. But Chalamet, who made a few missteps on the campaign trail , was up against one of the most well-loved actors operating in Hollywood. Jordan is someone who at only 39 years old has managed to amass a body of work that straddles commercial and critical success.

From The Wire to Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther, the Academy award winner has amassed a body of work that straddles commercial and critical success
• Oscar winners 2026: the full list
• Sinners’ Oscar triumphs show that Black cinema is now a vital and valid part of Hollywood

Michael B Jordan’s best actor Oscar places him in an exclusive club . Only five black actors have won the award before. He now sits on a list that includes Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, Denzel Washington and Sidney Poitier, the first black winner for Lilies of the Field in 1964.

But less than a month ago, it seemed unlikely. Jordan’s success at the Actors awards was the first serious hint that he could beat Timothée Chalamet, who had won at the Golden Globes and was the frontrunner for much of the awards campaign. But Chalamet, who made a few missteps on the campaign trail , was up against one of the most well-loved actors operating in Hollywood. Jordan is someone who at only 39 years old has managed to amass a body of work that straddles commercial and critical success.