Delroy Lindo, 73, 'Proud That I'm Still in the Game' After Earning FirstEver Oscar Nom for "Sinners" (Exclusive) Stacy LambeJanuary 24, 2026 at 1:51 AM 0 John Nacion/Variety via Getty Delroy Lindo at the Gotham Film Awards on Dec. 1, 2025 Delroy Lindo is now a firsttime Academy Award nominee for his performance as Delta Slim in Sinners The actor reflects on earning his nod in the Best Supporting Actor category "What's resonating is certainly the recognition, the acknowledgment," he tells PEOPLE Fifty years after making his screen debut, Delroy Lindo has earned his firstever Oscar nomination at...
- - Delroy Lindo, 73, 'Proud That I'm Still in the Game' After Earning First-Ever Oscar Nom for "Sinners" (Exclusive)
Stacy LambeJanuary 24, 2026 at 1:51 AM
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John Nacion/Variety via Getty
Delroy Lindo at the Gotham Film Awards on Dec. 1, 2025 -
Delroy Lindo is now a first-time Academy Award nominee for his performance as Delta Slim in Sinners
The actor reflects on earning his nod in the Best Supporting Actor category
"What's resonating is certainly the recognition, the acknowledgment," he tells PEOPLE
Fifty years after making his screen debut, Delroy Lindo has earned his first-ever Oscar nomination at 73 years old.
The longtime actor — perhaps most famous for his collaborations with director Spike Lee — is now up for Best Supporting Actor for his standout turn as Delta Slim in Sinners, the vampire thriller written and directed by Ryan Coogler that set a new record with 16 Oscar nods.
"I didn't know what would happen this morning," Lindo admits to PEOPLE following the Academy's announcement on Thursday, Jan. 22. "What's resonating is certainly the recognition, the acknowledgment."
Looking back on his career, he says "there are a number of pieces of work that I'm really proud of," from portraying West Indian Archie in Malcolm X to Rodney in Clockers and Arthur Rose in The Cider House Rules. "I'm proud of all of it… I'm proud that I'm still in the game," he continues, explaining "these particular parts that just popped out" while reflecting on becoming a first-time nominee with Sinners.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Delroy Lindo as Delta Slim in 'Sinners'
It also comes amid a renewed appreciation for the actor that was kickstarted roughly 10 years ago with The Good Fight, a spinoff of The Good Wife from creators Robert and Michelle King, both of whom reached out Thursday morning to congratulate him. In addition to playing law partner Adrian Boseman opposite Christine Baranski, he also reunited with Lee, 68, for Da 5 Bloods, portrayed Bass Reeves in The Harder They Fall and teamed up with Kerry Washington on the Onyx series Unprisoned, which ran for two seasons on Hulu.
"The time that I spent on Good Fight brought into my sphere a slightly different kind of audience," Lindo says, noting that five years after leaving the show, "people are still referencing my work in that TV show… and then from there, it took this [upward] trajectory."
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Mentioning the projects that he starred in leading up to Sinners, he says, "I think that represents an uptick. Yeah, that's an uptake."
To cap it all off, his Sinners performance as a pianist recruited by twin WWI veterans (both played by Michael B. Jordan, who is also nominated) who are opening a juke joint for the Black community in Clarksdale, Miss. that becomes targeted by vampires, garnered acclaim from several critics groups in the run-up to the Oscars. Looking back on his role, Lindo is happy how Delta's poignant monologue in the film landed with viewers. "It's been very special to me that it has resonated for audiences in that way that it has," he says. "That's become a special piece of experience for me."
John Phillips/Getty
From left: Jack O'Connell, Delroy Lindo, Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld and Miles Caton in April 2025
The performance and Oscar nomination also comes after many felt that he was snubbed for his work in Da 5 Bloods. While the actor was candid about his disappointment at the time, he tells PEOPLE now that "it's apples and oranges," explaining that this nomination is "not a question of making up for it — in my mind anyhow."
Lindo says with Sinners, "this is a new experience, this is a new time, this is a different piece of work. And I'm thankful that it has been acknowledged."
Now, in the lead up to the Oscars being handed out live on Sunday, March 15 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., the actor is looking forward to celebrating with the cast and crew. "I'm excited at the prospect of reconnecting with everybody on this Sinners' journey because it's a special journey," he says.
Conan O'Brien is returning to host the Oscars live on Sunday, March 15, at 7 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming on Hulu. (Starting in 2029, the award show will air on YouTube.)
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: January 23, 2026 at 03:37PM on Source: OPERA MAG
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