All posts tagged: Delroy

Never too late: Delroy Lindo isn’t first Oscar star to be celebrated in golden years

Never too late: Delroy Lindo isn’t first Oscar star to be celebrated in golden years

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Five years ago, it was widely expected that Delroy Lindo would be nominated for an Oscar for his role in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods. In the event, he was overlooked by the Academy, just as he had been by the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild. Speaking to The Independent at the time, Lindo remained good-humored. “I would say that various reality checks I have received in the last few weeks or so have only enhanced my desire to remain circumspect about awards,” he remarked coolly. His patience has paid off. This year at the age of 73, the London-born actor who became a fixture of American cinema, has been nominated for an Oscar for the very first time. The honor arrives a full 50 years after he made his screen debut playing a drug kingpin in the Canadian …

Delroy Lindo says Baftas controversy ended up becoming ‘very positive’ amid waves of ‘love and support’

Delroy Lindo says Baftas controversy ended up becoming ‘very positive’ amid waves of ‘love and support’

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Delroy Lindo addressed the controversy surrounding last week’s Baftas ceremony while onstage at the NAACP Image Awards on Saturday (28 February). At the Baftas, Sinners stars Lindo and Michael B Jordan were presenting an award when audience member John Davidson, a Tourette’s campaigner whose life inspired the Bafta-winning film I Swear, experienced a tic that caused him to shout the “n-word”. Davidson had been ticcing throughout the evening, with most of his outbursts removed from the televised footage. However, the BBC’s failure to edit out the slur in question – despite a two-hour delay between the ceremony and the TV broadcast – has attracted heavy criticism. Appearing at the NAACP Image Awards alongside Sinners director Ryan Coogler, Lindo acknowledged the outpouring of support he had received following the Baftas. “I’d just like to officially say, we appreciate all the support and …

Delroy Lindo Speaks on BAFTA Tourette’s Fiasco at NAACP Image Awards

Delroy Lindo Speaks on BAFTA Tourette’s Fiasco at NAACP Image Awards

Published by Daniella Wilson

At the end of the week that saw the 2026 BAFTA Awards descend into controversy after guest John Davidson, who has Tourette Syndrome, shouted the N-word while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented an award, the 2026 NAACP Image Awards offered numerous opportunities for those affected by the incident to express their support for Jordan and Lindo. And Lindo himself offered his first public comments on the incident, taking the stage with his Sinners writer-director Ryan Coogler a little over an hour into the ceremony to loud applause at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. “I’d just like to officially say, I appreciate, we appreciate all the support and love we have been shown in the aftermath of what happened last weekend. It means a lot to us,” Lindo said. He added the moment is a “classic case of something that could be very negative becoming very positive” and reflected on the “honor” of being at the NAACP Image Awards. BAFTA has since offered a full apology for the incident, which reached a wider audience when …

Delroy Lindo Calls Out How Bafta Handled N-Word Tic Incident

Delroy Lindo Calls Out How Bafta Handled N-Word Tic Incident

Published by Sam Flores

Sinners actor Delroy Lindo has admitted he’s disappointed with the way Bafta reacted to an incident he found himself at the centre of during this year’s ceremony. On Sunday night, Delroy and Michael B Jordan – who had both been nominated for Baftas off the back of their performances in Sinners – presented the first award of the ceremony, for Best Visual Effects. During their introductory speech, Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson experienced an involuntary tic and shouted the N-word from the auditorium. John had been attending the Baftas with the cast and crew of I Swear, a film based on his life story. After the slur was shouted, the two briefly paused before continuing to present, with host Alan Cumming first thanking the audience for their “understanding” and later apologising to anyone “if you are offended tonight”. Speaking to Vanity Fair after the event, Delroy said that he and Michael “did what we had to do” by carrying on with the night’s proceedings. However, he said he wished “someone from Bafta spoke to us afterwards”. …

Delroy Lindo calls out Bafta for response to racial slur incident

Delroy Lindo calls out Bafta for response to racial slur incident

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Delroy Lindo has spoken out about the racial slur incident during last night’s Bafta Film Awards, revealing that the awards body did not speak to him and Michael B Jordan afterwards. Sinners co-stars Lindo and Jordan were at the awards ceremony on Sunday (22 February) at London’s Royal Festival Hall to present the prize for visual effects. However, during their introduction, the n-word was shouted by a member of the audience with Tourette syndrome. Speaking to Vanity Fair afterwards, Lindo said that he and Jordan “did what we had to do” while presenting the award, but that he wished “someone from Bafta spoke to us afterwards”. A spokesperson for Bafta said in a statement: “At the Bafta Film Awards last night our guests heard very offensive language that carries incomparable trauma and pain for so many. We want to acknowledge the …

Outcry Roils BAFTAs After Guest With Tourette Syndrome Shouts N-word at Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo

Outcry Roils BAFTAs After Guest With Tourette Syndrome Shouts N-word at Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo

Published by Sam Flores

At Sunday night’s BAFTA Awards, John Davidson—the real-life inspiration for the celebrated British film I Swear—shouted the N-word at Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo while the Sinners stars were presenting the award for best visual effects. The outburst followed an opening monologue from host Alan Cumming during which Davidson, who has Tourette syndrome, was involuntarily ticking. The audience had been informed of Davidson’s condition before the show began—but it was only after he said the racial slur that Cumming openly addressed the issue. “You may have noticed some strong language in the background. This can be part of how Tourette’s syndrome shows up for some people as the film explores that experience,” Cumming explained from the stage. “Thanks for your understanding and for helping create a respectful space for everyone.” After the incident, Davidson appeared to remove himself from the theater, according to Variety. At the Warner Bros. after-party following the ceremony, Lindo told Vanity Fair that he and Jordan “did what we had to do” while presenting—but that he also wished “someone from …

Delroy Lindo Has Always Been That Guy

Delroy Lindo Has Always Been That Guy

Published by Jenni Sidey

There was much to celebrate when this year’s Oscar nominations dropped Thursday morning and Sinners, Ryan Coogler’s thrilling vampire flick/feature-length metaphor, ran up an all-time record-setting score. The Academy Awards are now an all-or-nothing, with-us-or-against-us team sport, so however you felt about this unprecedented haul and the discourse around it—whether it was against your preference, or even for your preference, or even if you were relatively net neutral on the subject and are fine, you know, shutting the fuck up and waiting to see what happens—it was all pretty tribally divisive and needlessly personal and heated and incredibly annoying (except for those of us furious the best movie of the year, It Was Just An Accident, got shut out of Best Picture and Best Director. Our anger was righteous and completely justified). But the lone Sinners nomination that was uncontroversial—the one that was both a surprise and a delight, the one that accomplished the miraculous feat of uniting the entire spectrum of obnoxious movie opiners online—was the great Delroy Lindo’s first-ever Academy Award nomination for …

Oscar nominee and Sinners star Delroy Lindo on why the UK can ‘absolutely’ root for him – but he doesn’t see himself as British | Ents & Arts News

Oscar nominee and Sinners star Delroy Lindo on why the UK can ‘absolutely’ root for him – but he doesn’t see himself as British | Ents & Arts News

Published by Daniella Wilson

He is the Lewisham-born actor who, at the age of 73, finds himself in the running for an Oscar. While Delroy Lindo can now reflect that being an Oscar nominee “has a certain ring to it”, the Sinners star says he was taken by surprise at the news when it first broke. “My son called me,” he explains. “I will not say I was asleep, but I was not fully awake, and I’m listening to my son very excitedly say how proud of me he was. “And I then noticed on my phone I had 179 Text messages, so I knew that something was up.” You need javascript enabled to view this content Enable javascript to share Share Which Oscar nominee broke records? While he says he is happy for viewers in the UK to “absolutely” root for him in the best supporting actor category on Oscars night, the Sinners star – who moved to the US in his teens – says he no longer considers himself a Brit. “My career has been birthed and …

Wunmi Mosaku, Delroy Lindo Save the Brits From Oscars Shut-Out

Wunmi Mosaku, Delroy Lindo Save the Brits From Oscars Shut-Out

Published by Daniella Wilson

Wunmi Mosaku and Delroy Lindo will be flying the flag for the usually well-performing Brits at this year’s Academy Awards. The Sinners stars are the only U.K. natives to land acting Oscar nominations on Thursday, unveiled by Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman from the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Notably, Emily Blunt (The Smashing Machine) and Cynthia Erivo (Wicked: For Good) did not score nods. Thanks to Mosaku and Lindo, the U.K. is somewhat covered at the 98th Academy Awards — though it’s been a decidedly weaker year for British talent. Had the duo not earned nods, it would have been the first time in 40 years that Britons failed to earn an acting Oscar nomination. This last occurred in 1986. Nigerian-British actress Mosaku is recognized in the supporting actress category for her role as powerful Hoodoo priestess Annie in Ryan Coogler’s vampire horror, which scored the most Oscar nominations ever. Her character is also the love interest of Michael B. Jordan, who earned an acting nomination for his performance as the Smokestack twins. It is …