Breaking down the acting nominations at the Golden Globes: What could they mean for the Oscars?
The Golden Globes are still opening the season with its Feb. 28 virtual show with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosting. The Academy Awards are still closing the season, albeit in mid-April. For one month, Hollywood will focus its attention on the Golden Globes and piece together what will be a very different awards season.
Because of the later show, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will allow films premiering in January and February to be eligible. The Golden Globes are often a great indicator for the Oscars, but with its two extra months of eligibility, everything is up in the air. Some of the films coming out of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival are eligible this year. With everything in question, let’s breakdown the acting categories from the Golden Globes and assess who will stay, who will go, and who has a chance of cracking the Oscar nomination list.
Best Actor — Drama
Riz Ahmed in “Sound of Metal,” Chadwick Boseman in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Anthony Hopkins in “The Father,” Gary Oldman in “Mank,” Tahar Rahim in “The Mauritanian”
Chadwick Boseman has this award from every award show on lock. He’s perfect in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” It’s fitting his final performance before his death is the one that wins him a bunch of awards. The rest of the nominations are great, but Boseman is walking away with this one. Shockingly, Eddie Redmayne nor Delroy Lindo didn’t get nominated. Not that it makes a difference, but they were also great performances.
The biggest shame and snub is the exclusion of Delroy Lindo from the Golden Globes. It’s a mistake the Oscars are going to correct. Riz Ahmed, Tahar Rahin, and Boseman will be back for Oscar nominations, but Lindo will replace Anthony Hopkins. As much as Gary Oldman gives a stunning performance in “Mank,” there is a chance he doesn’t get nominated for an Oscar. Other possible replacements in this category are John David Washington in “Malcolm and Marie” and Tom Hanks in “News of the World.”
Best Actress — Drama
Viola Davis in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Andra Day in “The United States vs Billie,” Frances McDormand in “Nomadland,” Carey Mulligan in “Promising Young Woman,” Vanessa Kirby in “Pieces of a Woman”
Best Actress in a Drama is hard because it comes down to Viola Davis and Frances McDormand. Both are great in two very different movies and roles. But, McDormand gets more screentime, and Boseman upstages Davis. Going off those two things, McDormand just barely edges out.
Davis, McDormand, and Carey Mulligan are shoe-ins for Oscar nominations. Andra Day and Vanessa Kirby are wild cards. Nicole Beharie, for her role in “Miss Juneteenth,” deserves a seat at the table along with Zendya for her role in “Malcolm and Marie.”
Best Actor — Musical or Comedy
Sacha Baron Cohen in “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” James Corden in “The Prom,” Lin-Manuel Miranda in “Hamilton,” Andy Samberg in “Palm Springs,” Dev Patel in “Personal History of David Copperfield”
While Andy Samberg is usually known for The Lonely Island and his days on SNL, “Palm Springs” showed a different side of him. Very rarely do we get to see Samberg in more serious comedies. Palm Springs is a different role from his character on “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” and it’s what might have won him the award. Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat is iconic, but he might lose some votes because he’s done it already. Lin-Manuel Miranda would be nominated if it weren’t for the odd year 2020 was.
It’s hard to see any comedy actors breaking into the Academy Award nomination. The Academy tends to like dramatic roles, and there are plenty for voters to chose from. There were even snubs in the Best Actor Drama category. These performances are great but won’t get much Oscar buzz.
Best Actress — Musical or Comedy
Maria Bakalova in “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” Kate Hudson in “Music,” Michelle Pfeiffer in “French Exit,” Rosamund Pike in “I Care A Lot,” Anya Taylor-Joy in “Emma”
The award shows love to award actors who have been putting in work for years. While usually, they garner multiple nominations, Anya Taylor-Joy is the favorite for the Golden Globe. She’s gained a lot of notoriety throughout the year from “Emma,” “New Mutants,” and “Queens Gambit.” She’s also nominated for “Queens Gambit.” A win for her might be a culmination award for the sheer amount of work she put out, and she’s more deserving for “Emma”; however, a win for both is just as plausible.
If any actress in this category has a chance of getting nominated for an Oscar, it’s Anya Taylor-Joy, especially if she wins the awards. Just like the actors, the Academy Awards prefers Dramas over comedies. It’s not unprecedented she gets a nomination, but a win would make it more likely.
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Sacha Baron Cohen in “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Daniel Kaluuya in “Judas and the Black Messiah,” Jared Leto in “The Little Things,” Bill Murray in “On the Rocks,” Leslie Odom, Jr. in “One Night in Miami”
Leslie Odom, Jr. had a great performance in “One Night in Miami,” but the ensemble cast makes it a hard vote. The problem with ensemble performances is voters could think other actors had a better performance, and “One Night in Miami” is loaded with them. The same could be said of Sacha Baron Cohen in “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” Then Bill Murry’s performance in “On the Rocks” will never compete with some of the other iconic performances and movies in his filmography. It leaves Jared Leto, and Daniel Kaluuya, and Kaluuya has the better performance in the better HBO Max movie.
There is no problem with these nominations. It’s a fine list. There are some other great supporting actor performances this year, but you can’t complain about these Golden Globe Nominations. However, some other performances to watch out for is Chadwick Boseman’s performance in “Da 5 Bloods,” Mark Rylance in “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” and Paul Raci in “Sound of Metal.”
Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Glenn Close in “Hillbilly Elegy,” Olivia Colman in “The Father,” Jodie Foster in “The Mauritanian,” Amanda Seyfried in “Mank,” Helena Zengel in “News of the World”
Amanda Seyfried stole every scene she was in. She elevated every scene and was perfect with whoever David Fincher put her with. Helena Zengel is great in “News of the World,” and Jodie Foster, Glenn Close, and Olivia Coleman are great actresses, but Seyfried stole the show.
Zengel is the weakest nomination from the Golden Globes. She was great in “News of the World,” but there are other actresses out there. Maria Bakalova got elevated to Best Actress for Comedy and Drama but she’ll most likely move to Supporting Actress and take Zengel’s spot in the Oscars.
Side note: This was way too big to do all the nominations in one article. Check out the other nominations in my other article.
