THE END, FINALLY

Oscars’ Most Competitive Race Ends in Stunning Nail-Biter

The race for Best Actor was one of the most unpredictable in years.

The Oscar for Best Actor was awarded to Sinners star Michael B. Jordan on Sunday night, after a heated battle with Timothée Chalamet for his work on Marty Supreme.

Jordan became the frontrunner in the race after winning the Actor Award from the Screen Actors Guild. Chalamet’s gaffe disparaging opera and ballet didn’t help his case either. Market betting rapidly switched from favoring Chalamet, 30, for the win to favoring Jordan, 39, soon after. The awards show made several nods to Chalamet’s comments throughout the evening.

Jordan played twin characters Smoke and Stack in the most-nominated film of all time. He thanked his mother, who was seated next to Oscar nominee Emma Stone, during his acceptance speech. Stone later lost the Best Actress award to Hamnet‘s Jessie Buckley.

Predictions for the Best Actor Award were thrown into chaos at the Actor Awards (formerly known as the SAG Awards) earlier this month, when Jordan took home the award over Chalamet.

“I wasn’t expecting this at all,” he said on stage at the time. Chalamet, as the only actor in the running who had won major precursor awards at both the Critics’ Choice and Golden Globes, had been considered favorite to take home the Oscar.

Before Jordan’s big win at the Actor Awards, Polymarket placed his Oscar odds at just 6.9 percent. The win moved him into second place with 37 percent the following day, but he still trailed Chalamet, who was at 51 percent. DiCaprio, Hawke, and The Secret Agent‘s Wagner Moura were all well below, in the single digits.

At the Critics’ Choice Awards in January, Jordan was caught on camera looking unimpressed as Chalamet accepted the award for Best Actor, during which Chalamet expressed his love for his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner. At the Actor Awards last year, Chalamet declared his love for acting. “I know people don’t usually talk like that, but I want to be one of the greats,” he said at the time.

Jordan used similar language during his acceptance speech on Sunday. “I stand here because of the people that came before me: Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Forrest Whitaker, Will Smith,” he said, referencing the Oscar winners. “And to be amongst those giants, amongst those greats, amongst my ancestors, amongst my guys. Thank you.”

“I can barely breathe right now… you were absolutely incredible in this film,” Foxx posted on Instagram in response, adding, “You’re operating in rare air right now. Celebrate it to the fullest… and trust me, the after-party is going to be crazy.”

“Thank you to everybody in this room and everybody at home for supporting me over my career,” Jordan added from the stage. I feel it. I know you guys want me to do well, and I want to do that because you guys bet on me. So thank you... keep betting on me.”

Obsessed with pop culture and entertainment? Follow us on Substack and YouTube for even more coverage.

Eboni Boykin-PattersonEntertainment Reporter

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.