The Michael B. Jordan vs Timothée Chalamet discourse has been relentless; what began as a comparison between the films Sinners (2025) and Marty Supreme (2025) has evolved into a much larger, ongoing conversation, spanning platforms such as TikTok and Letterboxd, with some viewers declaring allegiance to Sinners without ever having watched Marty Supreme, dismissing it as just a ‘ping-pong movie.’ However, writer Liz Courquet-Lesaulnier in her Dallas Weekly piece ‘Michael B. Jordan’s Performance Overshadowed by Timothée Chalamet’s Win,’ suggests the debate reflects a familiar American pattern of outwardly praising Black excellence without ultimately rewarding it, with countless black actors and actresses being ‘robbed’ of their win, with one of the most noteworthy snubs of all time being Samuel L. Jackson for Best Actor in Pulp Fiction (1994).
When it comes to comparing Sinners and Marty Supreme, the matter is far from straightforward. Ryan Coogler’s Sinners falls within the horror genre, which has historically received less recognition during awards season, while Marty Supreme aligns more closely with the type of character-driven drama the Academy often favours. It is an epic genre-defying film that prioritises collective storytelling, accompanied by standout performances not only from Michael B. Jordan but equally from Miles Caton as Sammie Moore and Hailee Steinfeld as Mary. The film treats vampires as figures tied to generations of black culture and abuse, accompanied by music which plays a central role throughout the film, functioning as a connection between past and present. If box office achievement is considered, Sinners impressively leads as the highest-grossing original horror, also breaking the record for most Oscar nominations with 16 Oscar nominations, taking over All About Eve (1960), Titanic (1991) and La La Land (2016) with 14.
On the other hand, Marty Supreme, directed by Josh Safdie, approaches its narrative from a much narrower and more intimate perspective. The film is entirely character-driven, following Marty’s pursuit of greatness and using table tennis as a medium for discipline and pure, unchecked obsession. Rather than incorporating the extensive historical or cultural scope seen in Sinners, the film remains closely aligned with its protagonist, allowing Chalamet’s performance and screenplay to truly carry the film.
The debate has also centred on how performance itself is measured. Some point to Chalamet’s sustained focus on a single character and his reported six years of preparation for the role as justification for his win. Kyle Buchanan in his New York Times article compared Chalamet’s career trajectory to Leonardo DiCaprio’s, pointing out that DiCaprio did not win his first Oscar until the age of 40. With Chalamet now 30, some see Marty Supreme as a similar turning point. The comparison is especially valid given that Adrien Brody remains the only male actor to have won an Oscar before 30, later winning again for The Brutalist (2024) while competing against Chalamet’s Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown (2024).
However, Chalamet’s recent opinions surrounding the Arts world, namely his comments on a CNN/Variety video conversation with Matthew McConaughey: “I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera […] Things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this any more.'” The press tour for Marty Supreme also perhaps adds to the negative reception of his wins. Clips of him describing his work as “committed top-of-the-line performances” and “some top-level s***” have circulated online, resulting in reactions similar to Chelsea Handler’s on her podcast, Not Skinny But Not Fat, saying that while Chalamet is “a great actor,” it can be “hard to hear someone talk about how great they are at acting.”
Other viewers do maintain that Jordan’s dual, and much debated triple, portrayal of Smoke, Stack and the vampire transformation should carry more weight, however, the logic of more characters played in the film = better actor, is a redundant way of seeing; the quality of acting should precede over the quantity, in any case, in my opinion. Considering his impressive wider body of work, films such as the Creed trilogy (2015-2023) and Black Panther (2018) are often cited as defining performances of this generation.
As previously mentioned, there also exists the undeniable context of Black actors being consistently overlooked by major awards critics, raising a systemic issue within the award system about who these film critics are and how they have such power to evaluate what is excellent. While Jordan did not take home the award, the amount of nominations alone speak to the impact of his role in Sinners. It is needless to say that both actors excel in their own respect, and determining who is most deserving ultimately boils down to personal preference and the metrics used to define their performances… And who is to say that, after neither winning Best Actor at the BAFTAs, one of the other three actors in the category (Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent), or Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon)) won’t take home the award this season?
While I believe Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme was deserving of its recognition, this does not diminish Michael B. Jordan’s work in Sinners. Given Chalamet’s performances across Call Me by Your Name (2017), Beautiful Boy (2018), Dune (2021) and A Complete Unknown, it would not be surprising nor disappointing to see him take home the Academy Award for Best Actor as awards season continues.