With the 2026 Oscars just days away, all eyes are shifting to the nominees for the night's top awards.
The race for actor in a leading role has garnered headlines all awards season, as some of the biggest names in Hollywood are competing for the prize, including Michael B. Jordan and Timothée Chalamet.
Each of the names in the mix are sourced from the blockbuster films that drew audience and critical acclaim this year, from "Sinners" and "Marty Supreme" to "One Battle After Another," "Blue Moon" and "The Secret Agent."
The 98th Annual Academy Awards will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 15. The awards will air live on ABC and stream on Hulu starting at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
Read on for everything to know about the five actors competing for actor in a leading role at the 2026 Oscars.
Michael B. Jordan, 39, earned critical acclaim in 2025 for his dual starring role in the box-office smash hit "Sinners," for which he was nominated for best actor.
In the film, Jordan plays twin brothers Elijah "Smoke" Moore and Elias "Stack" Moore, who attempt to open a juke joint in Clarksdale, Mississippi, before supernatural horrors ensue.
Jordan was born in California before moving to Newark, New Jersey, where he spent the majority of his early years.
After a stint on the famed crime drama "The Wire," Jordan's celebrity grew by way of his role in the drama series "Friday Night Lights," in which he played quarterback Vince Howard from 2009 to 2011.
His profile rose further with a starring role in Ryan Coogler's "Fruitvale Station," which tells the story of the 2009 police killing of 22-year-old Oscar Grant.
Coogler and Jordan would go on to reach box office stardom, first with "Creed," the Rocky spinoff starring Jordan as an esteemed boxer, and then with the hit Marvel film "Black Panther," starring Chadwick Boseman as the titular superhero and Jordan as the film's main villain, Erik Killmonger.
Coogler recently spoke about Jordan's onscreen talent in an interview on "Good Morning America," saying the actor has "incredible drive."
"There's a magic to Mike that I think, like, Tom Hanks has, where you see him, and you care about him," Coogler added. "As a character, he does everything. So, what that gives him is an incredible amount of empathy when he's on the screen."
Leonardo DiCaprio, who is nominated for his role as Pat Calhoun in Paul Thomas Anderson's "One Battle After Another," enters the field as a previous winner in the category.
In "One Battle After Another," DiCaprio, 51, depicts a beleaguered revolutionary forced to protect his daughter from an enemy from his violent past.
DiCaprio has been up for best actor a whopping five times before, winning in 2016 for his starring role in "The Revenant." He was also nominated in the category for his work in "The Aviator," "Blood Diamond," "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."
DiCaprio's cosmic stardom has reached heights seen by few entertainers before him. After starring in classics like "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" and "Romeo + Juliet" in his youth, he went on to be featured in a collection of some of the most commercially successful movies of the late 20th and 21st centuries including "Titanic" and "Inception," as well as critically acclaimed projects such as "Gangs of New York," "The Departed," "Revolutionary Road" and "Killers of the Flower Moon."
Off the big screen, DiCaprio has championed environmental causes, drawing attention to global warming, wildlife conservation, and animal welfare advocacy through documentaries and charitable projects.
Timothée Chalamet, one of the most recognizable actors of his generation, received his third Oscar nod -- his second consecutive nomination in the category -- for his role as Marty Mauser in "Marty Supreme."
In the film, Chalamet plays an over-eager aspiring table tennis superstar who will stop at nothing to achieve his dream.
The 30-year-old actor is the recipient of two other Oscar nominations, one for his role as Elio in "Call Me by Your Name" and another for playing Bob Dylan in the biopic "A Complete Unknown."
Chalamet's career, which began in his youth, was jumpstarted by his role in the science fiction classic "Interstellar," before he earned a breakout role in "Call Me By Your Name," followed by roles in "Lady Bird" in 2017, "Beautiful Boy" in 2018, and "Little Women" in 2019.
His name and filmography has only skyrocketed in recent years, with leading roles in "Dune" and "Wonka," before his two Oscar-nominated performances in "Marty Supreme" and "A Complete Unknown."
Chalamet has dabbled in the fashion, music, and the sports world throughout his career and has become notable for his high-profile film promotion tactics.
He has already won many of the top prizes for which he was nominated during this year's awards circuit, taking home the statuette for best actor at the Critics Choice Awards, Golden Globes, Astra Film Awards and more.
Chalamet's ambition has been noteworthy in his rise to fame. In his Actor Awards acceptance speech for "A Complete Unknown" last year, he said, "The truth is, I'm really in pursuit of greatness. I know people don't usually talk like that, but I want to be one of the greats. I'm inspired by the greats. I'm inspired by the greats here tonight. I'm as inspired by Daniel Day-Lewis, Marlon Brando, and Viola Davis as I am by Michael Jordan and Michael Phelps."
Ethan Hawke, a prolific actor, author, and filmmaker with decades in the industry under his belt, earned a nod this year for his role as Lorenz Hart in "Blue Moon," directed by Richard Linklater. The nomination marks Hawke's fifth Oscar nod overall, with previous nominations in the supporting actor and adapted screenplay categories.
Hawke, 55, was born in Austin, Texas, and spent much of his childhood between New Jersey and New York. He saw early success in 1989, playing Todd Anderson in "Dead Poets Society" alongside Robin Williams, a role that gave him immediate recognition in Hollywood.
Hawke's role opposite Denzel Washington in 2001's "Training Day" earned him widespread acclaim, as well as his first supporting actor Oscar nomination.
Notably, Hawke starred as Mason Evans Sr. in "Boyhood," Linklater's 2014 best picture nominee about a father's relationship with his son, which took 12 years to make.
Hawke reacted to his "Blue Moon" Oscar nomination in a statement to "Good Morning America" back in January, saying, "To make this film alongside one of my best friends, the incomparable Richard Linklater, was an honor in itself. Today I'm thinking back to the first time I read Robert Kaplow's brilliant, now-Oscar-nominated script, which so vividly captures the dangers and the joy in pursuing an artistic life."
He added, "Thank you to The Academy for recognizing our work, and with it the work of our cast, crew, and the entire company of artists who came together in Ireland to realize BLUE MOON."
Hawke was married to Uma Thurman from 1998 to 2005 and shares two children with the actress, actors Maya Hawke and Levon Hawke. He has been married to Ryan Shawhughes since 2008. The couple share two children.
Acclaimed Brazilian actor Wagner Moura, 49, was nominated this year for his first Academy Award for his role as Armando Solimões, a former professor living undercover as he tries to escape political persecution, in Kleber Mendonça Filho's "The Secret Agent."
Moura first earned worldwide acclaim for his portrayal of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in the hit Netflix series "Narcos," in which he starred in for two seasons.
Moura more recently furthered his profile playing a journalist in the 2024 dystopian film "Civil War" and with his role in the Apple TV+ miniseries "Dope Thief."
Moura is from Bahia, Brazil, in the South American country's Northeast Region.
In an interview with ABC News in February, Moura recognized the nomination and said his goal is to be a trailblazer for recognition of South American film achievements.
"It makes me feel great, of course, very honored and grateful," Moura said, referring to his best actor nod. "And I honestly hope that this will open the space for other not only Brazilian, but South American actors to be recognized by the work that they do, because that part of the world [has] been producing great films."
Moura has already won big for his role in "The Secret Agent" this awards season, taking home the Golden Globe for best actor in a motion picture (drama) in January.
Moura has been married to photographer, documentary filmmaker, and screenwriter Sandra Delgado since 2001. The couple share three children.
