Jan. 10 (UPI) — Quinta Brunson, Colin Farrell, Angela Bassett and Ke Huy Quan were among the early winners at the Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Tuesday.
Brunson won for Best Actress and Tyler James Williams for Best Supporting Actor in a TV Comedy for Abbott Elementary.
“Thank you for believing in a show about a group of teachers from Philadelphia. It has resonated with the world in a way that I could not even have imagined it would have,” said Brunson, who also created the series. “But let’s be real — I did imagine it. That’s why I sold it to you.”
Jeremy Allen White won the Globe for Best Actor in a TV Comedy for The Bear and the Best Actress in a TV Drama prize went to Zendaya for Euphoria.
Farrell scored the Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy Film for Banshees of Inisherin and told presenter Ana de Armas that he cried himself to sleep after watching her tragic Marilyn Monroe biopic, Blonde.
“It messed me up so bad. Not a joke, but you’re welcome to laugh!” he told the audience before thanking writer-director Martin McDonagh and co-star Brendan Gleeson for their extraordinary collaboration on not only Inisherin, but also 2008’s In Bruges. “You changed the trajectory of my life forever.”
McDonagh later won the Globe for Best Screenplay.
Austin Butler won the Globe for Best Actor in a Drama Film for Elvis and Steven Spielberg was voted Best Director for The Fabelmans.
Cate Blanchett, who was not present at the event, won the Best Actress in a Drama Film award for Tar and Bassett won the Best Supporting Actress in a Film for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Quan and his co-star Michelle Yeoh earned the honors for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actress in a Comedy Film, respectively, for Everything Everywhere All at Once.
“It’s been an amazing journey and an incredible fight to be here today,” Yeoh said of her career, which has spanned more than 40 years. “But I think it’s been worth it.”
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio was named Best Animated Film and Julia Garner won Best Supporting Actress in a TV drama for Ozark.
Midway through the show, actor Sean Penn introduced a video message showing Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussing what the world was like when the Globes were established decades ago.
“The second World War wasn’t over yet, but the tide was turned, all knew who would win. There were still battles and tears ahead, it was then when the Golden Globes awards appeared to honor the best performers of 1943,” Zelenkyy said.
“It is now 2023. The war in Ukraine is not over yet but the tide is turning. And it is already clear who will win. There are still battles and tears ahead, but now I can definitely tell you who are the best in the previous year — it was you. The free people of the free world. Those who united around the support of the free Ukrainian people in our common struggle for freedom,” he added. “There will be no third world war, it is not a trilogy. Ukraine will stop the Russian aggression on our land.”
Jerrod Carmichael is hosting the show, which is presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to recognize excellence in film and television. It is airing on NBC.
Presenters are expected to include Billy Porter, Jamie Lee Curtis, Natasha Lyonne, Quentin Tarantino, Tracy Morgan, Claire Danes, Henry Golding, Hilary Swank, Jenna Ortega, Jennifer Hudson, Letitia Wright, Regina Hall, Salma Hayek.
Jennifer Coolidge brought the house down when she took the stage to introduce the Best Supporting TV Actress nominees and ended up confessing her anxieties about speaking in public and how she almost backed out of participating.
“I got very, very nervous and then I thought, ‘I’m not doing this,'” the star recalled, explaining that after reassurances from the telecast’s producers that she would have all the support she needed, she agreed to help out. “I’m feeling really good right now because I haven’t screwed up yet.”
More than an hour later, she took home the Globe for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie for White Lotus.
Eddie Murphy will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award, while Ryan Murphy will be honored with the Carol Burnett Award.
The HFPA presents the awards each year.
NBC didn’t broadcast the event last year due to criticism of the organization for the lack of diversity in its ranks and transparency in its business practices.
The HFPA has since addressed these concerns and signed a one-year contract with NBC in September.
