Kudos to Martin McDonagh, Saoirse Ronan, Gary Oldman and others for picking up some of the night’s key awards.
ADVERTISEMENTThe year has started off quite well for European directors and actors, who scooped nearly a third of the 2018 Golden Globe Awards.
The ceremony on Sunday night (Jan. 7) was dominated by black dresses and comments about the sexual misconduct scandal rocking Hollywood, but it's worth taking a closer look at who took prizes home.
Seven Europeans picked up one of 25 awards handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
Martin McDonagh (UK-Ireland)
The night’s big winner was British-Irish director Martin McDonagh's "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri", a dark drama set in a small US town that depicts an enraged mother seeking vengeance for her murdered daughter.
The film picked up four Globes: best drama or musical, best screenplay, best actress in a drama or musical for its star Frances McDormand and, for Sam Rockwell, best supporting actor.
McDonagh had also been nominated in the best film director category, but that award went to Guillermo del Toro for "The Shape of Water".
Saoirse Ronan (Ireland)
Irish-American actress Saoirse Ronan won best actress in a comedy or musical for her coming-of-age performance in "Lady Bird".
The mother-daughter comedy by first-time director Greta Gerwig also picked up the award for best comedy or musical. It tells the story of a young woman eager to make a life for herself beyond her hometown of Sacramento, California.
"My mum’s on FaceTime over on someone's phone!" Ronan said as she started her acceptance speech, which praised "all of the women who I love so much in my own life who support me every single day."
Ronan was born in New York City to Irish parents, and her mother Monica was watching the ceremony from Ireland.
Gary Oldman (UK)
Gary Oldman earned best drama movie actor for his transformative role as British wartime leader Winston Churchill in Focus Features' "Darkest Hour".
Joe Wright's film follows Churchill's early days as prime minister, when he finds himself weighing whether to continue Britain's World War II fight or negotiate with Adolf Hitler.
It's Oldman's first Golden Globe nomination, and his first win. Other nominees in the category included Daniel Day-Lewis for "Phantom Thread", Tom Hanks for "The Post" and Denzel Washington for "Roman J. Israel, Esq".
"I’m very proud of Darkest Hour," the 59-year-old said in his acceptance speech. "It illustrates that words and actions can change the world and boy oh boy does it need some changing."
Ewan McGregor (UK)
The Scottish actor has finally won his first Golden Globe—on his third nomination—for his work on "Fargo".
McGregor's Golden Globe for best actor in a limited series or TV movie actually rewards two distinct performances: his role as twins Ray and Emmit Stussy. He underwent a striking transformation to play the brothers in the series' season 3.
McGregor beat out fellow nominees Robert De Niro ("The Wizard of Lies"), Jude Law ("The Young Pope"), Kyle MacLachlan ("Twin Peaks"), and Geoffrey Rush ("Genius").
Picking up his award dressed in black and wearing a "Time's Up" badge, he thanked his estranged wife Eve Mavrakis as well as Mary Elizabeth Winstead, his Fargo co-star who is now rumoured to be his new girlfriend.
ADVERTISEMENTAlexander Skarsgård (Sweden)
For many viewers, the success of "Big Little Lies", the HBO hit that won the Globe for best TV limited series, is due mainly to the performance of its female-driven cast—including Nicole Kidman and Laura Dern who both picked up awards.
But on Sunday night, there was also room for a man to get credit. Alexander Skarsgård's on-screen performance as Kidman's abusive husband won him the award for best actor in a supporting role in a series, limited series, or motion picture made for television.
"I am here tonight because I had the privilege of working with a group of extraordinarily talented women," Skarsgård said in his acceptance speech. "Nicole, I love you. Thank you for making this the greatest experience of my career."
Fatih Akin (Germany)
German-Turkish director Fatih Akin's drama "In The Fade" scooped the Golden Globe for best foreign language film and is nominated in the same category for the upcoming Oscars.
In this German-French production, Diane Kruger plays a woman who seeks revenge after her husband and son are killed in a bomb attack. The plot is inspired by a series of murders carried out by a neo-Nazi group between 2000 and 2007 in Germany.
ADVERTISEMENTIt's Akin's first Golden Globes win. "In the Fade" beat other Cannes favourites "The Square" and "Loveless". All three movies are shortlisted for a Foreign Language Oscar.
Alexandre Desplat (France)
French composer Alexandre Desplat won Best Original Score for "The Shape of Water", the film by Guillermo Del Toro that had the most Globe nominations this year (seven). The magical fantasy, set in the 1960s, depicts a mute janitor’s fascination with an amphibious creature held captive in a top secret research facility.
Other nominees for best original score included scores by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood ("Phantom Thread") as well as Carter Burwell for "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri", four-time winner John Williams ("The Post") and Hans Zimmer for "Dunkirk".