Malaysian star Michelle Yeoh has taken home a top acting award after returning from the ceremony following a scandal over diversity and ethics at the Golden Globes.
Yeoh, who is known for her own stunts, was recognized Tuesday night for best actress in a musical or comedy for her starring role in dimension leap action film Everything Everywhere All at Once.
“Hollywood was a dream come true until I came here,” added the 60-year-old actress, noting being labeled as a “minority” and asking if she could speak English early in her career.
Forty years later, “It’s been an amazing journey and an incredible struggle to be here today, but I think it was worth it,” she said.
Austin Butler won Best Actor in a Drama for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis [Mario Anzuoni/Reuters]
Also honored were Steven Spielberg, who has been nominated 14 times for Best Director by the Globes and won for the third time with his autobiographical coming-of-age film The Fabelmans, and Irish actor Colin Farrell, who won for him Best Actor in a Musical or comedy was part of the dark comedy of broken friendship The Banshees of Inisherin.
Austin Butler, the 31-year-old star of director Baz Luhrmann’s rock-and-roll biopic Elvis, has won Best Actor in a Drama.
“You were an icon and a rebel and I love you so much,” Butler told the late legendary singer in an emotional speech, during which he also commended Presley’s family for their support.
“You could at least play ‘Suspicious Minds’ or something,” he joked to the gala’s pianist as music interrupted his moment on stage.
Australian Cate Blanchett won Best Actress in a Drama for her role as the orchestra conductor in Tár.
The two biggest box office hits of 2022 – Avatar: The Way of Water and Top Gun: Maverick – have been excluded.
The 80th Golden Globe Awards was hosted by Jerrod Carmichael, who delivered a scathing monologue in the wake of a diversity and ethics scandal [Rich Polk/NBC via AP Photo]
Celebrities and broadcaster NBC abandoned the 2022 Globes because of ethical errors at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the group that awards the awards.
A larger, more diverse membership and other changes convinced many of the biggest stars in film and television to support this year’s ceremony – the 80th Golden Globe Awards – the traditional kick-off to the Hollywood awards season.
The show performed much the same as previous years, except for a scathing monologue from comedian and host Jerrod Carmichael, who opened the show with a quip, “I’m here because I’m black.”
“I’m not going to say they were a racist organization,” he continued before taking the stage. “But they didn’t have a single black member until George Floyd died. So do whatever you want with that information.”
Other honorees included Black Panther actress Angela Bassett, who received a supporting actress award for her role as Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
“We showed the world what Black unity, leadership and love looks like beyond, behind and in front of the camera,” Bassett said while holding her trophy.
Angela Bassett poses with her Golden Globe for supporting actress for her role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever [Chris Pizzello/Invision via AP Photo]
Around 200 journalists and others from the international film industry voted on this year’s Globes.
Among those voters, nearly 52 percent were racially and ethnically diverse, including 10 percent black, according to the HFPA.
Among the television awards, Mike White’s HBO series White Lotus won Best Limited or Anthology Series.
Fresh off her dramatic finale, Jennifer Coolidge delivered one of the longest and warmest speeches of the night while accepting the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series.
“Even though this is the end, you changed my life in a million different ways,” Coolidge told White. “My neighbors talk to me, things like that.”