Michael B. Jordan Wins the Oscar and Shouts Out Denzel Washington, Halle Berry and More: ‘I Stand Here Because of the People Who Came Before Me’

Michael B. Jordan has won the first Oscar of his career, taking home the lead actor statue for playing twin brothers Smoke and Stack in the supernatural thriller “Sinners.”

“I stand here because of the people that came before me,” Jordan said before shouting out the five prior Black acting Oscar winners: Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker and Will Smith. ” To be amongst those giants, those greats, amongst my ancestors, amongst my guys…

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He continued, “Thank you everybody in this room and everybody at home for supporting me over my career. I feel it. I know you guys want me to do well, and I want to do that because you guys bet on me. So thank you for keeping betting on me. I’m going to keep stepping up, and I’m going to keep being the best version of myself I can be.”

Jordan became the late, breaking frontrunner in the category — he was nominated against Timothee Chalamet (“Marty Supreme”), Leonardo DiCaprio (“One Battle After Another”) Ethan Hawke (“Blue Moon”) and Wagner Moura (“The Secret Agent”) — after scoring a key victory at the Actor Awards, formerly known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Prior to that ceremony, he had lost the BAFTA to Robert Aramayo of “I Swear,” the Golden Globe to Moura and the Critics’ Choice to Chalamet.

“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. In addition to box office glory (“Sinners” has grossed $370 million globally), the film is the most-nominated in Oscar history with 16 nods, including director for Coogler and best picture.