Michael B Jordan upends Oscars race as Sinners wins big at Sag Awards 2026
At the sag awards 2026, Michael B Jordan scored a surprise best actor win for the vampire horror Sinners, which also won the night’s top prize of best ensemble cast — a result that leaves the best actor race too close to call ahead of the Oscars on 15 March. The rebranded Actor Awards took place in Los Angeles and produced a mix of red‑carpet fashion moments, shocks and televised stumbles that reverberated through awards season.
Sag Awards 2026: Jordan and Sinners claim best actor and best ensemble
Michael B Jordan was named best actor for his role in Sinners, and the film also won best ensemble cast. In his acceptance speech Jordan said he wasn’t expecting the win — "I don't even know where to begin, I wasn't expecting this at all" — and said he felt "so honoured and privileged" to have been nominated. He paid tribute to his mother Donna, who he has been bringing to events as his guest throughout awards season, thanking her for the sacrifices that helped his career: "Mom, thank you for driving me back and forth to New York when we didn't have enough money to go through the Harlem tunnel, when we were looking for gas money, parking spaces. " Jordan also thanked Sinners director Ryan Coogler and his co‑stars for allowing him to do his best work.
Delroy Lindo’s ensemble acceptance and the BAFTA incident follow‑up
Accepting the best ensemble prize, Delroy Lindo described making Sinners as an "incredible journey, " saying: "Every single day we brought ourselves, our hearts, our souls, to this endeavour. " He added that simple gratitude did not capture how the cast felt: "To be recognised by you all, 'thank you' does not come anywhere near to encompassing what we feel, the gratitude. " The Actor Awards triumphs for Sinners came a week after the Bafta Film Awards, where Tourette's campaigner John Davidson involuntarily shouted a racial slur while Lindo and Jordan were on stage. Voting for this year's Actor Awards ceremony closed on Friday, five days after the Baftas ceremony. Lindo later addressed the incident from the stage at the NAACP Image Awards on Saturday, saying: "We appreciate the support and love we have been shown in the aftermath of what happened last weekend, " and calling it "a classic case of something that could've been very negative becoming very positive. "
Kristen Bell, the Shrine Auditorium and a themed red carpet
The 2026 ceremony — now billed as the Actor Awards after a rebrand — was hosted by Kristen Bell at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles on Sunday night. The event introduced a dress code framed as "Reimagining Hollywood Glamour from the '20s and '30s. " The red carpet drew nominees and stars including Chase Infiniti, Teyana Taylor, Emma Stone, Timothée Chalamet, Michael B Jordan, Adam Brody and Paul Mescal. Michael B Jordan appeared in Tom Ford by Haider Ackermann. The host's offbeat marketing also featured a star‑studded table tennis tournament run by Kristen Bell; one playful prize from that moment was a trophy fashioned to resemble Timothée Chalamet.
Snubs and surprises in film: Chalamet, One Battle After Another, Marty Supreme and Frankenstein
Timothée Chalamet suffered his second high‑profile best actor loss in a week, losing the Actor Award to Michael B Jordan after having lost the Bafta best actor prize to Robert Aramayo for I Swear. Marty Supreme, despite three Actor Awards nominations — including Odessa A'zion for best supporting actress and a nod for best cast — was shut out. The film did, however, generate the viral moment tied to the host's table tennis tournament. Frankenstein, a three‑time nominee that was released on Netflix and linked to Guillermo Del Toro, went home empty‑handed. One Battle After Another entered the night with a leading seven nominations but left with a single win: best supporting actor for Sean Penn, who was not present to accept the trophy. One Battle After Another had nominations across best actor, actress, supporting actress, best cast and a stunt ensemble nod.
