Newark’s own Michael B. Jordan won his first Oscar on Sunday night for his performance as twins Elijah “Smoke” Moore and Elias “Stack” Moore in Sinners.
During his acceptance speech for best actor, an emotional Jordan, 39, thanked his mother, who sat beside him at the awards show and fiercely supported him throughout his childhood acting career as a kid growing up in Newark, plus other family members, director Ryan Coogler, fans and other Black Oscar winners who’d paved the way for him.
“God is good,” he started his acceptance to huge cheers from the crowd.
“I stand here because of the people who came before me,” he said of “giants” and “greats” including Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry and Will Smith.
He also thanked his fans, saying, “I know you guys want me to do well,” and, “I thank you for keep betting on me.” He promised to “keep stepping up.”
Jordan’s Oscar win comes two weeks after he accepted a SAG Actor Award in a speech that shouted out his Newark hometown and the sacrifices his mother made during the early days of his career. Calling himself a “kid from Newark, New Jersey,” he remembered, “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.”
Jordan was born in California but grew up in Newark and attended Newark’s Arts High School. Childhood roles included The Cosby Show and The Sopranos, before landing TV gigs on NBC’s Friday Night Lights and HBO’s The Wire, which would lead him down a path to stardom.
“The thing about growing up in Newark,” Jordan told New Jersey Monthly a decade ago, “is that it causes you to dream big.”
Coogler, who wrote directed Sinners, won the 2026 Oscar for original screenplay earlier in the night. Coogler, 39, also directed Jordan in Fruitvale Station (2013), Creed (2015) and Black Panther (2018). Sinners also nabbed Oscars for cinematography (Autumn Durald Arkapaw) and music/original score (Ludwig Goransson).
Sinners was nominated for 16 Academy Awards this year, the most of any film.
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