Michael B. Jordan didn’t call a publicist first. He didn’t call his co-stars, either. When the Oscar nominations were announced and Sinners made Academy Awards history, Jordan called his mother.
“My mom was my first call,” Jordan said after the nominations were revealed. “A lot of tears.”
The actor, 38, earned his first Oscar nomination for best actor for his work in Sinners, Ryan Coogler’s blues-soaked vampire epic set during the Jim Crow era. The film led the 98th Academy Awards with 16 nominations, a record for a single movie.
“It’s just one of those moments where you don’t really have words,” Jordan said. “You just feel it.”
Jordan credited his mother, Donna Jordan, for helping guide him into acting. He said she supported him early, even when the path felt uncertain.
“I’m here because of her,” Jordan said. “She believed in me before anybody else did.”
A Record-Breaking Morning for Sinners
The 16 nominations pushed Sinners past the previous all-time record of 14 nominations. That mark was shared by Titanic, La La Land and All About Eve.
The film landed in major categories, including best picture. Coogler received nominations for directing and writing. Jordan’s recognition arrived alongside nods for Delroy Lindo and Wunmi Mosaku in supporting categories.
Jordan called the nominations a win for the entire team behind the film.
“This is bigger than me,” he said. “This is everybody who poured into this.”
The actor also acknowledged the fans who embraced a genre-bending movie that mixed horror with history.
“We felt the love,” Jordan said. “We felt people show up for it.”
Jordan has long brought his mother as a date to major awards shows. Earlier this month, Donna Jordan drew attention at the Golden Globes after a joke from host Nikki Glaser sparked a viral reaction.
Jordan later described the moment as something his family could laugh about. But he said the Oscar news carried a different weight.
“This is one of those calls you dream about making,” Jordan said. “And I got to make it to her.”
The Oscars ceremony is scheduled for March 15, with Conan O’Brien set to host.
For Jordan, the nominations came with pride and relief. But they also brought him back to the start.
“When everything happens,” he said, “you go back to the people who kept you going.”