Michael B. Jordan has won the Oscar for best actor, delivering one of the night’s most celebrated moments at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday, 15 March, and handing Timothée Chalamet what may be the most talked-about loss of the awards season.
Jordan, 39, took the prize for his role in Sinners, in which he plays identical twins who return to their hometown in the Jim Crow South and face a supernatural evil.
When his name was called, he looked visibly overwhelmed, and the room responded with a loud, rousing standing ovation as he made his way to the stage.
In his acceptance speech, he thanked his mother and father, who had flown in from Ghana specifically to attend, along with his brother and sister.
He also paid tribute to director Ryan Coogler, calling him an “amazing person” and someone he feels genuinely honoured to work alongside.
Jordan beat out Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Wagner Moura and Ethan Hawke for the award.
It was a tight two-horse race for much of the season, Jordan picked up two SAG-AFTRA awards, including outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role, while Chalamet had won his first ever Golden Globe for playing ping-pong hustler Marty Mauser in Marty Supreme, and took best actor at the Critics’ Choice Awards.
In the end, it was Jordan’s night.
The result will sting for Chalamet, who has been remarkably open about how much he wants to be considered among the greats.
“I know we’re in a subjective business, but the truth is, I’m really in pursuit of greatness,” he said when accepting a SAG-AFTRA award in 2025 for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown.
“I know people don’t usually talk like that, but I want to be one of the greats.”
His campaign was not without turbulence.
In February, Chalamet sparked widespread backlash after remarks at a CNN town hall event in which he said he had no interest in working in art forms like ballet or opera where the pitch was essentially keeping something alive that no one cares about anymore.
The online reaction was fierce.
Retired ballet star Misty Copeland was among those who hit back, arguing that Chalamet owed more to those traditions than he seemed to realise.
“He wouldn’t be an actor and have the opportunities he has as a movie star if it weren’t for opera and ballet and their relevance in that medium,” she said.
Whether the controversy had any bearing on the final vote remains a matter of debate, Oscar ballots had already closed before the remarks went viral.
But on the night, it was Jordan who walked away with the statue, and a standing ovation that said everything about how the room felt.
