Golden Globes 2021: The winners list

The Crown and The Queen’s Gambit rule a pandemic-era Golden Globes rife with glitches and glamour-from-home.

Golden Globe winner Rosamund Pike in Molly Goddard; Anya Taylor-Joy.

Stars — they really are just like us. At the 2021 Golden Globes, hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in two locations, with nominees all logging on via video conferencing platforms, there were all the usual Zoom-related tech issues. Celebrities on mute. Celebrities uncertain as to which camera to look at. Celebrities unsure if their microphones were working.

“Are we on?” questioned Dan Levy, creator of Schitt’s Creek, as he accepted his award for Best Comedy.

“Can you hear me now?” asked Daniel Kaluuya, who delivered a chunk of his speech in celebration of winning the Best Supporting Actor award — for his new project Judas and the Black Messiah — without realising that he had been placed on mute. “You did me dirty,” he joked, when his sound was finally up and running.

But when it comes to pandemic-era award ceremonies, the 2021 Golden Globes could have been a lot worse. Sure, the event had more than its fair share of technological chaos. Such as the fact that before each award was announced, producers of the show made the odd choice to broadcast the Zoom screens of each of the nominees chit-chatting amongst each other. “How’s it going Bateman?” drawled Bob Odenkirk, nominated the Best Actor in a Drama category for Better Call Saul, at his fellow nominee, Ozark’s Jason Bateman, while the category’s eventual winner Josh O’Connor, for Netflix’s The Crown, looked on awkwardly.

Margot Robbie. Picture: AFP

Angela Bassett. Picture: AFP

So the nominee Zoom rooms felt a bit strange. But there were some benefits to having all the stars up for awards watching from the comfort of their own homes — even if for those based in the UK, it meant that they were logging on in the very early hours of the morning. Spare a thought for Promising Young Woman’s Emerald Fennell and Carey Mulligan, who sat through the entire ceremony in her blush pink Prada gown until four in the morning London time.

Not having celebrities in the room where the Golden Globes happened meant that there was no laboured walk from seat to podium every time an award was announced, which cut down on speech times. Instead, the lucky few who were given trophies were encouraged to dive straight in, which meant that surprise winners — such as The Crown’s Emma Corrin — had to process their victories in real time, in the middle of their speeches. “Wahhh!” screamed Corrin, who wore a velvet Miu Miu dress. It was The Crown’s night, taking out the best drama television series award.

Josh O’Connor as Charles and Emma Corrin as Diana in The Crown.

Andra Day, the star of The United States vs Billie Holiday, and the underdog victor of the fiercely contested Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama award, was moved to tears when her name was announced. Day, a singer for whom the biopic is her first major film role, is only the second Black woman to win a Golden Globe in the category — and the first to win in 35 years.

In a year when Golden Globes organising body the Hollywood Foreign Press Association had been criticised for not having a ­single Black voting member, and for snubbing several performances by people of colour, Day’s win — alongside fellow Black actors ­Kaluuya and the late Chadwick Boseman, whose wife Simone accepted his Best Actor in a Drama award for Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom — was galvanising.

As was the history-making win in the Best Director category for Chloe Zhao, only the second woman in history to win the prize, and the first woman of colour.

“Even with stupid things, inclusivity is important,” host Fey reminded the audience in her opening monologue.

Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher. Picture: Getty Images

And although this year’s ­Golden Globes was as silly as ever, even with all the celebrities watching from home, it also ­appeared to ­finally be making steps towards becoming inclusive.

Anya Taylor-Joy stole the best actress in a TV series gong for her role as chess sage Beth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit.

It was a category where Australian screen queens had the strongest chance. Taylor-Joy edged out Cate Blanchett for Mrs. America and Nicole Kidman for her performance in The Undoing.

After much gnashing of teeth at the nomination of Emily in Paris for Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy category, it lost out to another fish-out-of-water comedy, Schitt’s Creek, which after sweeping the Emmys continued its winning streak with gongs for Catherine O’Hara as well as Levy.

Sacha Baron-Cohen zoomed in from Sydney where he lives with his Australian wife, Isla Fisher, and their children, to accept awards for the latest Borat film — which beat Sia’s much-maligned Music in the best Musical or Comedy Motion Picture award.

And the winners were ...

Best Actor in a TV Musical or Comedy: Jason Sudekis — “Ted Lasso”
Best Actress in a TV Musical or Comedy: Catherine O’Hara — “Schitt’s Creek”

Best TV Musical or Comedy Series: “Schitt’s Creek”

Best Actor in TV Drama series: Josh O’Connor — “The Crown”

Best Actress in TV Drama series: Emma Corrin — “The Crown”

Best TV Drama Series: “The Crown”

Best Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture for TV: Mark Ruffalo — “I Know This Much is True”

Best Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture for TV: Anya Taylor-Joy — “The Queen’s ­Gambit”

Best Limited Series or Motion Picture for TV: “The Queen’s ­Gambit”

Best Actor in a Motion Picture —Musical or Comedy: Sacha Baron Cohen — “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”

Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy: “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”

Best Motion Picture — Drama: “Nomadland”

Best Director — Motion Picture: Chloe Zhao — “Nomadland”

Best Foreign Language Film: “Minari” (Korean)