Delroy Lindo, who finally became an Academy Award-nominated actor, had to wait just 50 years to receive the honor — overcoming “strategic blunders” along the way that at one point threatened to derail his career, he says.
Lind, 73, has been a longtime personality actor and has won critical acclaim for his film, television and stage appearances, even though he never won the industry’s highest honor. On Thursday, Lindor received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 2025 blockbuster “Sinners.”
The nominations come five years after some supporters of the actor complained that their role in Spike Lee’s film “Da 5 Bloods” was “ignored” by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Lind told Entertainment Weekly on Thursday that he was “deeply disappointed” to have been removed from the 2021 Oscar nominations for the role. Lee, himself an Oscar winner, expressed disappointment that Lindor didn’t win the award, commenting on Instagram in March 2021 that “the impact of his work over decades is not going away.”
Before his Oscar nomination, the actor had had a long and respected career, including acclaimed performances in notable films such as “The Cider House Rules” and Lee’s “Malcolm X” and “Crooklyn.” Still, for several years in the mid-1990s, Lind reportedly lamented the decline in his career as he developed a reputation as a “difficult” actor to work with.
“I made some strategic mistakes. One of the biggest mistakes was probably thinking I was an important character,” Lind told The Hollywood Reporter in March 2021, discussing why high-profile roles “died up” for him nearly 30 years ago. He brought passion and intensity to his work, and at times, he said, would clash with his directors if their creative visions didn’t quite align.
At one point, Lind dropped out of a Lee-produced film citing concerns with the script, resulting in a nearly 25-year hiatus between actor and director collaborations, Lind told GQ in April 2021. He may have walked away from acting altogether if fellow actor Denzel Washington hadn’t told Lind that he was “too good” to quit and nixed the idea, he said at a screening of his film Sinners in December. 2025, according to Deadline.
“That period had to do with various mistakes I made that probably led me to be seen as less viable and undesirable as a movie actor,” Lind told GQ. “Was it frustrating and painful? Of course. I was playing catch-up.”
Ultimately, Lindor told THR that he realized he needed to adjust his approach to collaboration, rather than expecting his acting talent to keep him getting high-profile work.
“I thought it was a meritocracy. I thought good jobs beget better jobs. No, that’s not the case,” Lind said. “Also, in certain situations, I wasn’t being strategic or diplomatic. I needed to communicate in a way that didn’t come across as ungrateful or bigoted.”
Communication expert: “Don’t think of it as a confrontational conversation.”
Effective communication is a critical skill that can impact anyone’s career, some experts say. Learning the art of having tough conversations at work, such as offering constructive criticism with co-workers or respectfully disagreeing with your boss, can help you advance your career without alienating others, workplace expert Hena Pryor told CNBC Make It on Aug. 21.
Pryor recommended reframing these conversations not as confrontations but as opportunities for clarity. “At the end of the day, it’s how you prepare and structure (the conversation) that matters,” she said. “I don’t think of those conversations as confrontational conversations. I think of them as clarifying conversations. I want to be clear about the issues and why we disagree.”
Lind didn’t reveal specifically how she’s adapted her approach to be more diplomatic when expressing her creative opinions at work, but she’s back to scoring notable acting roles. In addition to his roles in Da 5 Bloods and Sinners, Lind also had a recurring role on the Emmy-nominated Paramount+ series The Good Fight from 2017 to 2021.
Lindor now has his sights set on an award that many actors spend their entire lives and careers pursuing. Lind said she still holds the honor close to her heart even after enduring the ups and downs of her career.
“I feel great,” Lind told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Friday. “To be honest, it’s still a work in progress, but it’s great.”
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