The Golden Globes had some predictable stuff, like “One Battle After Another” and “Adolescence” cleaning up and host Nikki Glaser making fun of the age of Leonardo DiCaprio's partners.
But there were also some sweet moments, like when “Adolescence” star Erin Doherty, who played a child therapist, won the trophy for best female actor in a supporting role on television — and thanked therapists.
Or when George Clooney, who was sitting at the lip of the stage, gallantly helped Jean Smart up to the podium and later hugged his former “ER” co-star Noah Wyle on his way to accepting best TV drama for “The Pitt.”
There were some weird moments, too, like when Rose Byrne explained why her partner and fellow actor Bobby Cannavale wasn't there to see her win: He was at a reptile expo in New Jersey because the family was getting a bearded dragon.
A sweet occasion was when “Pluribus” star Rhea Seehorn, onstage to accept her acting award for a TV drama, first told presenter Queen Latifah that she met her 20 years ago while she was between jobs and the rapper-actor was “so nice.”
Other moments included a Golden embrace of Brazilian filmmaking, Seth Rogen having deja vu, Amy Poehler dunking on NPR and “KPop Demon Hunters” singer-songwriter Ejae encouraging viewers to keep striving.
Wagner Moura won the Golden Globe for lead actor in a movie drama, becoming the second Brazilian to take home a Globes acting prize after Fernanda Torres’ win last year for “I’m Still Here.”
Moura in “The Secret Agent” plays a former professor forced into hiding while trying to protect his young son during Brazil’s military dictatorship of the 1970s. The movie also won the Globe for best non-English film.
“‘The Secret Agent’ is a film about memory — or the lack of memory — and generational trauma,” Moura said in his acceptance speech. “I think that if trauma can be passed along generations, values can too. So this is to the ones that are sticking with their values in difficult moments.”
Moura is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar in Netflix’s “Narcos,” which ran from 2015 to 2017 and earned him a Golden Globe nomination in 2016. He was also in 2024's “Civil War.”
On Sunday, he brushed aside competition from Joel Edgerton in “Train Dreams,” Oscar Isaac from “Frankenstein,” Dwayne Johnson in “The Smashing Machine,” Michael B. Jordan in “Sinners” and Jeremy Allen White from “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.”
Last year, Brazil earned its first Oscar win in the international film category for “I’m Still Here.”
Seth Rogen won his first Golden Globe only months after his showbiz satire “The Studio” set an entire episode at the same awards ceremony.
“This is so weird! We just pretended to do this and now it is happening!” Rogen said, cradling his trophy. “I thought the only way I would get to hold one is to create a whole show to give myself a fake one.”
The Golden Globe episode of “The Studio” follows Rogen’s studio executive, Matt, as he attends the Globes, where he’s obsessed with the idea that his name gets mentioned in an acceptance speech.
In his actual winning speech, Rogen thanked his fellow nominees, calling out “Only Murders in the Building” duo Steve Martin and Martin Short. “I remember growing up watching you guys, my whole life thinking, ‘One day I’m going to beat them.’” He then laughed, adding “I did not think that.”
“Good Hang with Amy Poehler” won the inaugural best podcast award and the host had a joke about her rivals at National Public Radio.
“I know that I am new to this game. I have great respect for this form,” Poehler said. “I have great respect for everyone I am nominated with. I am big fans of all of you — except for NPR: just a bunch of celebs phoning it in. Try harder.”
Poehler's show beat out “Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard,” “Call Her Daddy,” “The Mel Robbins Podcast,” “SmartLess” and “Up First,” from NPR. (She also beat her ex-husband Will Arnett, part of “SmartLess.”)
It is Poehler’s second Globe, having won one in 2014 for “Parks and Recreation.” She said her podcast is an attempt to make a “rough and unkind world filled with a little bit more love and laughter.”
The podcast nominations avoided politics or controversy by passing on popular podcasts from conservative-leaning programs like “The Megyn Kelly Show,” “The Tucker Carlson Show,” “The Ben Shapiro Show,” Candace Owen’s “Candace” and “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
“Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters ” won the Globe for best original song and one of its songwriters had a lesson to others struggling to be heard.
“When I was a little girl, I worked tirelessly for 10 years to fill one dream — to become a K-pop idol. I was rejected, and disappointed that my voice wasn’t good enough,” said co-singer Ejae, who also co-wrote the track with Mark Sonnenblick and Lee Hee-joon. “Now I'm here as a singer and a songwriter.”
“So it's a dream come true to be part of a song that is helping other girls, other boys and everyone of all ages to get through their hardship and to accept themselves,” Ejae added.
The “KPop Demon Hunters” soundtrack has topped the charts — debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Soundtracks chart and No. 8 on the all-genre Billboard 200. The movie also won the Globe for best animated film.
“Golden” contains the lyrics: “Waited so long to break these walls down/To wake up and feel like me/Put these patterns all in the past now/And finally live like the girl they all see.”
“Adolescence” won four Golden Globes and writer Jack Thorne highlighted the young people in the show’s cast, saying, “You are proof the world can be better.”
“Removing hate is our generation’s responsibility. It requires thought from the top down. The possibility seems remote right now, but hope is a beautiful thing,” he added.
The Netflix four-part series, which traces the emotional fallout after a U.K. teenager's stabbing, has become a sensation. It won eight Emmy Awards last year, including outstanding limited or anthology series.
On Sunday, “Adolescence” won Globes for best limited series, anthology series, or motion picture made for television; TV male supporting actor for Owen Cooper; TV female supporting actor for Erin Doherty; and TV lead male actor for Stephen Graham.
For more coverage of the 2026 Golden Globe Awards, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/golden-globe-awards
Amy Poehler poses in the press room with the award for best podcast for "Good Hang with Amy Poehler during the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Wagner Moura poses in the press room with the award for best performance by a male actor in a motion picture – drama for "The Secret Agent" during the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
