Kiera McGuire
Features Editor
On Jan. 5, actors, filmmakers, producers, music directors and other entertainment personnel gathered at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California for the 82 Golden Globe awards, opening the 2025 award season with winners for films including “The Brutalist” and “Emilia Pérez” and television shows like “The Bear” and “Shōgun.”
Comedian Nikki Glaser became the first solo female host in Golden Globes history, bringing a new perspective and relatability to the show that previous hosts failed to achieve.
“Good evening and welcome to the 82nd Golden Globes: Ozempic’s biggest night,” Glaser said as she walked onstage. Glaser went on to provide commentary on the 2024 presidential election; she said that celebrities could do anything except tell people who to vote for. Glaser immediately asked Ariana Grande to “hold [her] finger,” a reference to the “Wicked” star’s press tour with co-star Cynthia Erivo, which garnered a laugh from the in-person audience.
Glaser also gave a shout-out to the servers working that night, telling the attendees that they will “be bringing you your cocktails to drink and your food that you’ll look at,” before starting the show.
The Golden Globes have famously kicked off awards season, setting expectations for who will win awards in other entertainment award ceremonies, including the Critics Choice (telecasting on Jan. 26 after a delay from the California fires) and the Oscars (airing on March 2, the last show to present in award season each year). However, many fans of the award show have said that the Golden Globes are more of a “participation” award than an award entertainers “earn,” questioning whether this year’s winners will claim more awards in other award programs.
There were many unanticipated wins that night, especially in the more well-known categories. Sebastian Stan took home the “Best Male Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy” award for A24’s “A Different Man,” beating out Jesse Eisenberg (“A Real Pain”) and Hugh Grant (“Heretic”). The film centers around a man who gets a life-changing operation to change his appearance but quickly wishes to go back to how he once looked. The movie was notably not included in nominations for other film ceremonies, including Critics Choice and Screen Actors Guild, sparking outrage online for the alleged snubbing of a film that deals with disabilities. Demi Moore received the “Best Female Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy” award for her role in the horror/sci-fi film “The Substance,” beating out the performances of Zendaya (“Challengers”) and Cynthia Erivo (“Wicked”), both of whom were at the top of many prediction lists.
Perhaps one of the biggest surprises was how many awards the musical “Emilia Pérez” took home, even considering their 10 nominations. The crime-thriller film won awards for “Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture” (Zoë Saldaña), “Best Non-English Language Motion Picture,” “Best Original Song” and “Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy.” After the award show ended, many people took to social media to comment on how they believed the movie displayed stereotypes of Mexican culture. Others were surprised the film won the comedy or musical award over “Wicked,” which took the award for “Cinematic and Box Office Achievement” for its level of popularity.
Television also took home awards, although more categories centered on film (12 to 17, respectively). Glaser jokingly said in her opening speech, “Tonight we celebrate the best of film and hold space for television,” poking fun at the fact that television is often overlooked in the film’s award shows. Jean Smart received the award for “Best Actress in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy” for her role as Deborah Vance in “Hacks.” Smart’s performance was up against those of Ayo Edebiri (“The Bear”) and Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”). “Shōgun,” the Hulu original historical show set in Japan, won all four Globes for which it was nominated: “Best Actor in a Television Series — Drama” (Hiroyuki Sanada), “Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Television Series” (Tadanobu Asano), “Best Female Actor in a Television Series — Drama” (Anna Sawai) and “Best Television Series — Drama.”
The Golden Globes began a highly anticipated award season that left fans of film and television excited for things to come regarding the entertainment industry.