The 2021 Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night honored stars who ranged from the absolutely expected to the pleasantly surprising. Here are the biggest surprises from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s picks for the 78th annual ceremony. And see the full rundown of winners here.
Surprise: Rosamund Pike, “I Care a Lot” — After Rosamund Pike surprisingly won for “I Care A Lot,” she made sure that the HFPA knows “I care a lot” about this honor. Pike’s performance in the Netflix film echoes her duplicitous turn in “Gone Girl” (for which she was also Golden Globe nominated) as she plays a crooked legal guardian who swindles elderly people out of their life savings.
Snub: Maria Bakalova, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” — The breakout star of “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” Maria Bakalova has won a number of critics awards and was honored to be the first Bulgarian to ever be nominated for a Golden Globe, but she lost out to “I Care a Lot” star Rosamund Pike in the Actress in a Musical or Comedy category.
Surprise: Andra Day, “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” — Andra Day was in shock after she beat out a formidable field for Best Actress that included titans like Viola Davis, Frances McDormand, Carey Mulligan and Vanessa Kirby for her role as singer Billie Holiday in Lee Daniels’ film. Surrounded by her family she was so stunned that she had her head in hands and took no shame in reading her speech directly off a sheet of paper.
Snub: Viola Davis, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” — While the whole field could’ve plausibly been deserving this year for Best Actress, Viola Davis scored her first Globe nomination after winning for “Fences” in 2017, and though her co-star Chadwick Boseman picked up a Globe win, Davis went home empty handed.
Surprise: Jodie Foster, “The Mauritanian” — Sitting with her partner and her dog over Zoom, Jodie Foster said she “just never expected to be here again” after she won the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2013. In “The Mauritanian” she gives a compelling performance the lawyer for a suspected terrorist detained at Guantanamo Bay.
Snub: “Promising Young Woman” — Though this Carey Mulligan-led film had promising odds heading into the 2021 Golden Globes, “Promising Young Woman” was shut out of every category that it was nominated in.
Surprise: “Io Si (Seen)” from “The Life Ahead,” by Diane Warren, Laura Pausini, Niccolò Agliardi — Most critics predicted the Best Original Song – Motion Picture category would be won by either Leslie Odom Jr and Sam Ashworth’s “Speak Now” from “One Night in Miami” or “Tigress & Tweed” from “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” so Warren’s honor was an upset, for sure. But not an honor that wasn’t deserved.
Snub: “Mank” — David Fincher’s sumptuous film on Hollywood history was the most nominated film at the Golden Globes this year, but Fincher, Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried all went home empty handed. “Mank” composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross did win a Golden Globe — but they did so for their work on “Soul” instead.
Surprise: Mark Ruffalo, “I Know This Much Is True” — Mark Ruffalo played not one, but two complex characters in HBO’s limited series “I Know This Much Is True,” but he was still a sleeper pick behind “The Undoing”star Hugh Grant and “The Good Lord Bird” lead Ethan Hawke to win Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television. But his twinning impressed the HFPA enough to him a surprise golden statuette.
Snub: “Ted Lasso” — The final season of “Schitt’s Creek” continued its awards-darling reign by grabbing the Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy award on Sunday, preventing freshman Apple TV+ comedy “Ted Lasso” from grabbing a win. Luckily, star Jason Sudeikis got his personal due by conquering the best actor in a comedy series race.
Surprise: Josh O’Connor, “The Crown” — While ‘The Crown” itself was a lock in the drama TV series category and breakout star Emma Corrin was a shoo-in to win the corresponding lead actress award for her performance as Princess Diana, her co-star, Josh O’Connor was a shocking pick for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama. Most experts thought that crown would go to “Ozark” star Jason Bateman, but it seems O’Connor’s performance as Prince Charles was enough to get him on the throne.
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