2023 Golden Globe Recap

The Golden Globes, awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) premiered on Tuesday after a year-long time out mandated by NBC for years of trouble with the organization.

Host comedian Jerrod Carmichael broke it down for audience members on the absence of the award show last year.

“I’ll tell you why I’m here,” Carmichael said in his opening monologue. “I’m here ‘cause I’m Black. I’ll catch everyone in the room up. This show, the Golden Globe awards, did not air last year because the Hollywood Foreign Press Association—which, I won’t say were a racist organization—but they didn’t have a single Black member until George Floyd died. So do with that information what you will.”

NBC, which typically airs the show, declined in 2022 after an industry-wide backlash over the lack of Black representation among the HFPA. In 2021, due to COVID-19, the awards were pushed back almost two months, with first responders and essential workers as audience members in place of actors.

In 2018 Brendan Fraser, who was nominated for his role in The Whale this year, told GQ that Philip Berk, former HFPA president, had sexually assaulted him in 2003. And in 2021, the Los Angeles Times came out with a report confirming rumors surrounding financial and ethical conflicts within the HFPA.

So now that we know the recent history of the Golden Globes, let’s get into the night’s big winners! There were a lot of first-time winners in this ceremony.

Austin Butler won his award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama in Elvis, beating out Brendan Fraser (The Whale), Hugh Jackman (The Son), Bill Nighy (Living), and Jeremy Pope (The Inspection). In his acceptance speech for his first Golden Globe, Butler praised his mother, who passed away in 2014, saying, “I want to thank my mom who I know is smiling down right now […] Thank you for sacrificing so much for me.”

Michelle Yeoh also won her first award for her work in Everything Everywhere All at Once. She was nominated in Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy along with Lesley Manville (Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris), Margot Robbie (Babylon), Anya Taylor-Joy (The Menu), and Emma Thompson (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande). 

In another first and big win, Ke Huy Quan won Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture for his role in Everything Everywhere All at Once. Quan was chosen over Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin), Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin), Brad Pitt (Babylon), and Eddie Redmayne (The Good Nurse). Quan’s win is huge since he’s the first Asian actor to win that award since 1984.

“When I started my career as a child actor in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, I felt so very lucky to have been chosen,” Quan said in his acceptance speech. “As I grew older, I started to wonder if that was it, if that was just luck. For so many years, I was afraid I had nothing more to offer, that no matter what I did, I would never surpass what I achieved as a kid,” he continued. “Thankfully, more than 30 years later, two guys thought of me, they remembered that kid, and they gave me an opportunity to try again.”

Here’s a complete list of winners for film:

Best Motion Picture — Drama

Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

Best Motion Picture — Non-English Language

Best Motion Picture — Animated

Best Director — Motion Picture

Best Screenplay — Motion Picture

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

Best Original Score — Motion Picture

Best Original Song — Motion Picture