Sunday, March 15th, marked the 98th Academy Awards. The show drew in millions of viewers nationwide, and announcements of the winners of highly anticipated categories, such as Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actress in a Leading Role, and Best Picture, were of particular interest as usual. Amid all of the Timothée Chalamet controversy, audience members were especially curious to see who the winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role would be. In case you haven’t heard, Michael B. Jordan ended up taking home the Oscar! Here’s why he was the deserving choice:
Distinct Portrayals of Twins
Not only did Michael B. Jordan play twins (which is essentially double the work!), but one of the twins, Stack, becomes a vampire after his death. Jordan was faced with the challenge of not only ensuring that audience members could distinguish between the twins but also portraying a supernatural being.
Long-Awaited Recognition
Jordan has established himself in Hollywood by playing leading roles in blockbuster films such as Black Panther and portraying the son of Apollo Creed in the Creed movies. He has been acting professionally for over 25 years and received his first Oscar nomination this year. It’s about time!
1930s Era Depiction
Sinners is set in 1930s Mississippi during the Jim Crow era. In order to make the audience believe that Jordan could have actually been a member of society during this time, he likely had to put in countless hours into his craft on top of memorizing his lines, studying dialect, perfecting mannerisms, and physically transforming himself.Â
Box Office Success
Sinners was a massive box office success, grossing over $365 million worldwide (which blew Marty Supreme out of the water!). This speaks to the significant critical acclaim of the film, with Jordan’s performance being a major contributing factor.