Michael B. Jordan could not believe what he was hearing Sunday night, when his name was called as best actor winner at the 2026 Actor Awards, previously known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
The Sinners star was up against Timothée Chalamet for Marty Supreme; Leonardo Dicaprio in One Battle After Another; Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon; and Jesse Plemons for Bugonia.
Viola Davis opened the envelope as the audience anxiously waited to hear who would win.
“Michael B. Jordan!” Davis shouted with excitement.
Jordan, who played twins “Smoke” and “Stack” in the Ryan Coogler vampire thriller, appeared completely shocked. He bowed his head, hugged his Sinners co-star Delroy Lindo, then turned and hugged his mom.
The actor received a standing ovation from the audience, including the other best actor nominees.
“I wasn’t expecting this at all,” Jordan said in his acceptance speech. “I’m so honored and privileged to be nominated in categories with people and actors and humans that I love, and I love their work and what you contribute to this craft. Thank you for welcoming me in and making me feel seen.”
The former child star got emotional as he talked about how difficult it was to earn enough credits to join the actors union and his family’s financial struggles when he was a kid in Newark, New Jersey.
“Mom, thank you 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 up there for my auditions, thank you,” he shared.
“I want to say thank you to 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 like you do with all the other actors that we had the opportunity to work with,” Jordan added as Coogler looked on from the audience.
Moments later, Samuel L. Jackson presented the trophy for best cast in a motion picture and yelled, “Ah, ha, ha, Sinnerssssssssss!”
Hosted by Frozen actress Kristen Bell, the 32nd Annual Actor Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles.
The show opened with a hilarious sketch featuring the cast of Abbott Elementary acting out scenes from nominated films and TV shows.
Just 24 hours earlier, Jordan and Sinners were big winners at the 57th NAACP Image Awards in Pasadena, California.
There’s one more major awards show this season — the 98th Oscars on Sunday, March 15 in Hollywood. Sinners leads the competition with a record 16 nominations.
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