Michael B. Jordan became emotional as he accepted the American Cinematheque Award on Thursday night.

During the ceremony at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, the Creed actor was showered with praise by his past and present co-stars before being presented with the honour by his frequent collaborator, director Ryan Coogler.

Taking to the stage to accept the award, the Sinners star began his emotional 13-minute speech by thanking the speakers for their kind tributes and making his "whole career flash before (his) eyes".

"I look around the room and I see the people who were there from the beginning with prayer, support, belief," he continued, according to Gold Derby. "Some of those people aren't here tonight, but their fingerprints are all over the foundation. Their work, their faith - it all went into this. Watching y'all do that for me, I realised I didn't have to pull up a chair to somebody else's table. I could have my own table. I could have my own house. And more importantly, I could build a community."

The 38-year-old, one of the youngest recipients of the award, then spoke about building dreams and willing them into existence.

"I stand on the shoulders of giants - and my ancestors. Build the house, and they will come," he said, before sharing author Toni Morrison's quote: "If there's a book you really want to read that hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."

He added, "So, to the artist: plant your seeds, find your people, build with them. And to the people making decisions about what stories do get told: be bold, take the risk. These stories matter."

During the event, Jordan received tributes from the likes of Ben Affleck, Mahershala Ali, Tessa Thompson, Octavia Spencer, Bradley Cooper, Delroy Lindo and Daniel Kaluuya, who asked the audience for a moment of silence for their late Black Panther co-star Chadwick Boseman. Jordan attended the unveiling of Boseman's posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame earlier that day.

The nonprofit cultural arts organisation bestows the award every year to "an extraordinary artist" who is "committed to making a significant contribution to the art of the motion pictures".

Previous honorees include Jessica Chastain, Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Scarlett Johansson, Spike Lee, and Eddie Murphy.