Michael B. Jordan won for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role over Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke and Jesse Plemons
Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Viola Davis shouted in surprise when she announced that Michael B. Jordan had won the 2026 Actor Awards’ prize for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role on Sunday, March 1
- Jordan won the award for his performance in Sinners and received tremendous applause from the crowd in Los Angeles
- Sinners also won the Actor Awards’ trophy for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture on Sunday, March 1
Viola Davis led the cheers for Michael B. Jordan when he won Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in Sinners at the 2026 Actor Awards.
Davis, 60, presented the award at SAG-AFTRA's annual awards show on Sunday, March 1, to Jordan, 39, a first-time winner at the awards ceremony who starred in a dual role in the blockbuster 1930s-set vampire thriller Sinners. Jordan clinched the award over fellow nominees Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon) and Jesse Plemons (Bugonia), and Davis gasped before announcing his name when she opened up the envelope.
Davis' emotional reaction to Jordan's win could be heard through a microphone on stage for several seconds as Jordan approached the stage to accept the trophy during one of the night's largest standing ovations.
Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty
Davis has made her fandom of Sinners clear: In December 2025, she led a panel discussion with Jordan and other members of the cast and crew .
Jordan, 38, stars in Sinners in dual roles as twins Smoke and Stack, who return to their hometown in 1932 Mississippi after several years away to open a nightclub for Black patrons, only to see their opening night crashed by a vampire (Jack O'Connell) drawn to the musical talents of their cousin Sammie (Miles Caton).
The movie, which also stars Hailee Steinfeld, Delroy Lindo, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson and Omar Benson Miller, was written and directed by Jordan's frequent filmmaking collaborator Ryan Coogler. Sinners also won the Actor Awards' Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture award on March 1; The movie's two wins at the Actor Awards come just one week after Sinners made history at the BAFTAs when it became that ceremony's most decorated movie by a Black director ever on Feb. 22. It picked up three bronze masks for Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score and Best Supporting Actress (Wunmi Mosaku).
Sinners also boasts an all-time record for the movie with the most Oscar nominations; the film has 16 total Academy Award noms. The 2026 Oscars will wrap up awards season on Sunday, March 15.
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See PEOPLE's full coverage of the 32nd annual Actor Awards Sunday, March 1 as they air live on Netflix.
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