Caribbean Roots Shine As Delroy Lindo Earns First Oscar Nomination For Sinners

By NAN ET EDITOR

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Jan. 23, 2026: After decades of commanding performances that shaped modern Black cinema, Caribbean roots, British-born actor Delroy Lindo has finally crossed a milestone many believe was long overdue: his first Academy Award nomination.

British Caribbean actor Delroy Lindo attends the 83rd annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on January 11, 2026. (Photo by Michael Tran / AFP via Getty Images) /

The London-born, Jamaican-rooted actor, 73, earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 98th Academy Awards for his role as Delta Slim in Sinners, the genre-blending vampire thriller directed by Ryan Coogler. The nod marks a long-awaited recognition for an artist whose career has been consistently lauded by critics, yet repeatedly overlooked by awards bodies.

Delroy Lindo, l., Ryan Coogler (C) and cast and crew of “Sinners” accept the Cinematic and Box Office Achievement award onstage during the 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on January 11, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/CBS via Getty Images)

For Caribbean audiences and the global diaspora, Lindo’s nomination resonates far beyond Hollywood. Born in Lewisham, London, to Jamaican parents who were part of the Windrush generation, Lindo’s life mirrors a transatlantic Caribbean journey – moving from the UK to Canada as a teenager, then to the United States, where he trained at the American Conservatory Theater and forged a career that would span stage, film, and television.

His mother was a nurse who struggled as an outsider in England but instilled a strong sense of heritage in her son, while his father held various jobs, contributing to the family’s cultural background. Lindo has said in the past that he felt like an outsider as the only Black child in his school, but was inspired to act after a school play. He deeply connects with his Jamaican roots, viewing his parents’ emphasis on presentation as a key part of his heritage, a theme echoed in his work.

Delroy Lindo accepts Best Supporting Actor for “Sinners” onstage during the 2026 Annual Movies for Grownups Awards with AARP at Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel on January 10, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AARP)

Lindo has previously found himself in awards-season conversations for iconic roles, including West Indian Archie in Spike Lee’s Malcolm X and his searing performance in Da 5 Bloods. But when nominations failed to materialize, he deliberately resisted expectation. “I try not to buy into that,” he told Entertainment Weekly last year, reflecting on past snubs. Still, he admitted that the absence of recognition was painful. “I was profoundly disappointed, frankly.”

That disappointment did not derail him. Instead, Lindo kept working – on his own terms.

In Sinners, he delivers a performance critics describe as hypnotic. Playing Delta Slim, a Mississippi bluesman whose music anchors a juke joint that becomes the target of supernatural forces, Lindo brings gravitas, restraint, and lived-in wisdom to the screen. Coogler has praised the performance as “incredible,” noting what Lindo brought to the role every single day on set.

Audiences agreed. Sinners boasts a 97% critical rating and 96% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and its global box office haul of approximately $368 million made it one of the year’s most successful original films. The movie shattered awards records with 16 Oscar nominations, becoming the most-nominated film in Academy history.

For Lindo, the recognition arrives not as validation, but as affirmation. “To have been working as an actor for the length of time that I have… the fact that audiences still apparently find what I’m doing interesting – that’s not a given,” he said. “I don’t take any of it for granted.”

His Caribbean roots continue to inform his creative direction. Lindo has long spoken about the influence of his Jamaican heritage and the Windrush experience, which he is now exploring in a forthcoming memoir scheduled for release in 2027. He is also developing and directing a feature film set in Jamaica’s Blue Mountains, centered on spirituality, healing, and the power of community – themes deeply rooted in Caribbean culture.

Lindo exclusively told E! News that his son Damiri was the one to tell him he received his first-ever Oscar nomination for the 2026 ceremony. “I was in bed,” he recalled to E!. “My phone rang. It was my son. I picked it up and said, ‘Hey man,’ and he said, ‘Dad, dad, you got it. You got that s–t.'”

“It means the world because he’s seen it all,” Lindo was quoted as saying. “He’s seen it away from the red carpet. He’s seen both sides of it. So, along with my wife, they have the internal and the external perspective on this journey. It felt completely right on to receive this news from my son.”

Lindo faces off against Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value), Benicio Del Toro (One Battle After Another) and Sean Penn (One Battle After Another) in his category.

But, however, it turns out, Lindo told E!: “It’s just incredibly joyful and affirming. Affirming that audiences inside and outside of the industry have responded to this work so fully, and the fact that the work has touched people, I believe, in the depth of their humanity. I don’t have the words to explain how gratifying and affirming that feels. It’s extraordinary.”

For many in the Caribbean diaspora, the moment already carries meaning: a son of Jamaican immigrants, whose artistry endured decades of industry blind spots, finally standing where history says he always belonged.

The Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O’Brien, air Sunday, March 15, 2026, on ABC.