Actor Michael B. Jordan delivered a raw and emotional speech after winning his first-ever Oscar for Best Actor at the 98th Oscars in which he praised God, honored his family, acknowledged the predecessors in the industry that paved the way for him, and expressed deep love and appreciation for fans that supported his work.
For context, Jordan won the award for his leading role in the film ‘Sinners.’ As mentioned, it was his first ever golden trophy and amazingly the first time he had been nominated. The 39–year-old actor has been a mainstay in Hollywood for years now, having risen to acclaim in the early-2000s hit HBO series The Wire when he portrayed a young criminal in the opening season.
Jordan had recurring roles in the daytime soap opera All My Children and sports drama Friday Night Lights before landing a feature film role in Fruitvale Station, also directed by Ryan Coogler. After roles in the Rocky reboot Creed and appearances as the main antagonist in Black Panther, Jordan’s body of work made him instantly recognizable in the film industry.
Stepping up the microphone on stage at the biggest awards show in Hollywood, the humbled actor immediately expressed gratitude to God and praised Him. “God is good. God is good. Y’all know how I feel about my mother and my father’s here. Your pops, where you at? My dad, my dad came in from Ghana for Ghana to be here. My brother, my sister’s here. My family. I want to thank. I want to thank. I want to thank Warner Brothers. I want to thank Mike and Pam for believing in this, this dream, this vision of Ryan Coogler and betting on a culture and betting on original ideas and original artistry. And you’re an amazing, amazing person,” he began.
“I’m so honored to call you a collaborator and a friend, and you gave me the opportunity and space for me to be seen. And I love you too, bro. Love you to death. I would like to thank who my incredible cast. Wooni, thank you so much for giving smoke opportunity to be him. Haley at home. You know, she’s getting ready to have a baby right now. Thank you so much for being the other, other, other half of stack,” 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 for keep betting on me, and I’m gonna keep stepping up, and I’m gonna keep being the best version of myself I could be,” he went on.
“So I just want to say thank you for everybody in this room that has something to do with my success. I love you guys and everybody at home who supported centers, who went to go see the movie once, twice, three, four or five times, thank you, because you guys made this movie what it is. I love you,” his acceptance speech ended.