The Crown reigned with several awards at this year’s Golden Globes, as other British stars including Sacha Baron Cohen and John Boyega were also big winners.
On the night the ceremony went virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chloe Zhao became only the second woman to win the best director prize, for Nomadland, while the late Chadwick Boseman was honoured posthumously for his final on-screen performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
There had been controversy ahead of the awards, with accusations that votes can easily be influenced and criticism over the lack of diversity in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organisation behind the ceremony. This was addressed during the show, both in a jokey opening monologue by hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, but also seriously by HFPA members who went on stage and promised to put things right.
Chadwick Boseman won the award for his final performance as Levee in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Pic: Netflix
Golden Globes 2021: All the TV and film winners
When it came to the awards, British stars dominated the ceremony. Josh O’Connor and newcomer Emma Corrin, who play Prince Charles and Diana in The Crown, were named best actor and actress in a TV drama, and the royal series won the gong for best drama overall.
Corrin, who beat co-star and previous winner Olivia Colman, who plays the Queen, seemed shocked as her name was read out.
She referred to O’Connor as “my prince charming” and paid tribute to Diana in her speech, saying: “Thank you so much to Diana, you have taught me compassion and empathy beyond anything I could ever imagine.”
O’Connor said he had the “time of my life” working on the show and described Corrin as “extraordinarily talented, funny and a brilliant player of rock, paper, scissors”.
Other British winners included Daniel Kaluuya for Judas And The Black Messiah, John Boyega for Small Axe, Rosamund Pike for I Care A Lot, Anya Taylor-Joy (who has dual citizenship) for The Queen’s Gambit, and Sacha Baron Cohen, who was a double winner for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, which was named comedy film of the year.