Golden Globes: ‘Popcorn actress’ Demi Moore proves to be star of real substance

A phoenix rising in custom Giorgio Armani Privé, 62-year-old Demi Moore won her first ever award on a night of surprises at the Golden Globes.

Clockwise from main: Demi Moore; Shogun cast Cosmo Jarvis, Anna Sawai, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano; The Brutalist star Adrien Brody with fellow cast members Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce. Picture: Getty Images

Pity the poor producer who told Demi Moore she’s nothing more than a “popcorn actress” – they must feel like a royal fool.

The 62-year-old icon is the comeback story of the year, a phoenix in custom Giorgio Armani Privé, soaring over the doubters with a best comedy actress win at the 2025 Golden Globes.

Moore beat out the likes of Amy Adams and Zendaya for her performance in The Substance, Coralie Fargeat’s goofy, grotesque body horror about a fading starlet who goes to frightening lengths to regain her youth.

“I’ve been doing this a long time, like over 45 years, and this is the first time I’ve ever won anything as an actor,” the 62-year-old said. “Today I celebrate this as a marker of my wholeness, and for the gift of doing something I love and being reminded I do ­belong.”

The evening was full of surprises. Last year, Anora, Sean Baker’s stripper Cinderella story, seemed like a shoo-in for best picture at the Oscars. It was the first American film to win the coveted Palme d’Or at Cannes since Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life in 2011, and its story was as American as apple pie – after all, what does America love more than itself?

Apparently, the answer is: anything but.

At the Golden Globes on Monday, Anora – like its title character – left empty-handed. Instead, Emilia Perez, a Spanish-language musical about a cartel leader in Mexico pursuing gender reassignment surgery, emerged as the night’s true victor.

With 10 nominations – the most in Golden Globes history since La La Land (12) – Emilia Perez claimed four wins, including best non-English language film, best song, and best supporting ­actress for Zoe Saldana.

American ingenuity was not entirely fobbed off, though. Brady Corbet’s 3½-hour post-war epic The Brutalist took home best drama, with Corbet also clinching best director.

The film stars Adrien Brody (who won best actor) as Laszlo Toth, a Hungarian-Jewish architect who, after surviving the Holocaust, emigrates to the US to forge a new life. Australian Guy Pearce, who missed out on best supporting actor, plays a predatory millionaire industrialist.

It was thrilling to see a film like The Brutalist win, despite the odds stacked against it. As Corbet mentioned in his awesome and antagonistic acceptance speeches, there were moments when the film seemed as if it might never be made. “I was told this film was ­undistributable, that no one would come out to see it, that it wouldn’t work,” the 36-year-old director said on stage. He seized the moment to advocate for giving directors the final cut. “I want to use this moment to lift up filmmakers. Films don’t exist without them, so let’s support and prop them up.”

Sebastian Stan. Picture: AFP

The Brutalist, out in Australia on January 23, is also notable for being the first full-length film shot entirely on VistaVision since Mary Poppins, despite its modest $10m budget.

Other film prizes were scattered widely. Sebastian Stan was the unexpected winner for best comedy actor, recognised for his role in the little-seen A Different Man. He also earned a nomination in the best drama actor category in Ali Abbassi’s biopic The Apprentice.

Meanwhile, Conclave, Challengers, and A Real Pain each took home one award.

Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Marc Platt, and Jon M. Chu, winners of the Cinematic and Box Office Achievement award for Wicket. Picture: AFP

Wicked, one of the most hyped films, took home just one award: the newly minted prize for best cinematic and box office achievement. Curiously named, this award doesn’t honour the film that earned most money (that would be Inside Out 2, which grossed $US1.6bn and lost out on best animated picture to Flow, which earned $US2.6m, but celebrates films with popular appeal: that’s shorthand for the Globes wanting Ariana Grande on the carpet.

The evening had its share of twists, none more jaw-dropping than the best drama actress. Australia’s last hope, Nicole Kidman – a favourite of the Globes with 17 nominations to her name – left empty-handed. That prize went to Brazilian acting royalty Fernanda Torres for her role in Walter ­Salles’ I’m Still Here.

Torres dedicated the prize to her 95-year-old mother, Fernanda Montenegro, an icon of Brazilian cinema who was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar in 1999 for Salles’ breakthrough feature Central Station. “She was here 25 year ago and this is like a proof that art can endure through life,” Torres said.

Other major snubs included The Wild Robot, favoured to win best animated film, and A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet – both left with nothing.

Meanwhile, TV delivered its usual suspects: Hacks claimed best comedy; Shogun conquered drama with three acting trophies; and Baby Reindeer pranced away with best limited series.