Golden Globes nominations 2021 are in! But who will win and who should win?
Film categories
Best Motion Picture - Drama
Nominated Nomadland, The Father, Mank, Promising Young Woman, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Should win The Father
Florian Zeller’s adaptation of his own play is dominated by a superlative performance from Anthony Hopkins, as a man suffering from dementia, and finds a wholly original way to make us empathise with the character’s confusion. Plus, after the last twelve months, the care home scenes seem even more devastating.
Will Win Nomadland
The fact that so many bold and brilliant films about Black lives and racism have NOT made it onto this list (Da 5 Bloods, Judas and the Black Messiah and One Night in Miami, to name but three) suggests the members of the HFPA want an easy life. Everybody loves Nomadland and a win, in this category, would make history. Depressingly, no film directed by a woman has ever won this award.
Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Nominated Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman), Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman), Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Frances McDormand (Nomadland), Andra Day (The United States vs Billie Holiday)
Should win There’s no right answer to this one
Andra Day’s film is an unknown quantity (it’s yet to be screened in the UK) and every other nominee is swoon-worthy. Carey Mulligan though commits every atom of her being to a brazenly divisive role and successfully channels so much righteous rage that it feels less like a performance than a call to arms.
Will win Frances McDormand
Because watching emotions wash over the face of her drifter Fern is a joy and Frannie’s a firm favourite with the HFPA.
Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Nominated Anthony Hopkins (The Father), Gary Oldman (Mank), Tahar Rahim (The Mauritanian), Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal)
Should win Anthony Hopkins
Can I be the first to use the term Hopkinassance? OK, so it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but this feels like a declaration of intent from the 83 year-old till recently consigned to supporting roles in superhero romps (Thor Ragnarok) and Euro cack (Now Is Everything).
Will win Chadwick Boseman
Boseman (who died of cancer in August) is genuinely incredible as ebullient, emotionally-scarred trumpeter, Levee. The film doesn’t give him quite enough to do, but the HFPA will never be able to give him another award. I’m sure the other actors on the list wouldn’t have it any other way.
Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
NominatedBorat Subsequent Moviefilm, The Prom, Hamilton, Music, Palm Springs
Should win Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
The funniest film of 2020 had a massive real-world impact, exposing the grubbiness of a certain attorney. Satire doesn’t always age well, but the terrifying Washington scenes (not to mention the general preoccupation with Covid and QAnon conspiracy theorists), still feel ahead of the curve.
Will win The Prom
Because it has lots of sequins and an ageless Meryl Streep on top form.
Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Nominated Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), Kate Hudson (Music), Michelle Pfeiffer (French Exit), Anya Taylor-Joy (Emma), Rosamund Pike (I Care A Lot)
Should win Maria Bakalova
The young Bulgarian, in her film debut, rises to every challenge, demonstrating a wicked gift for comedy, as well as a dedication to undercover journalism that borders on the insane.
Will win Michelle Pfeiffer
Because Pfeiffer hasn’t made a movie for ages and Hollywood can’t resist a comeback.
Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Nominated Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), James Corden (The Prom), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), Andy Samberg (Palm Springs), Dev Patel (The Personal History of David Copperfield)
Should win Sacha Baron Cohen
Because he put his life on the line for a sequel that would have made money even if he’d just stood there and farted the Kazakhstan national anthem.
Will win Sacha Baron Cohen
It’s one of the loveable quirks of the HFPA that they adore him.
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Nominated Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah), Bill Murray (On the Rocks), Sacha Baron Cohen (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Leslie Odom Jr (One Night in Miami), Jared Leto (The Little Things)
Should win Daniel Kaluuya
His performance in Judas and the Black Messiah is actually worthy of a Best Actor award and the 31 year-old Londoner is the bruised and beating heart of one of the best films of the year.
Will win Leslie Odom Jr
Which would be no bad thing. Massively popular in the States, partly thanks to the sky-lark voice he showed off in Hamilton, Odom Jr is fabulous as the pragmatic, pugnacious and witty Sam Cooke. As long as either he or Kaluuya go home with a trophy, justice will have been served.
Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Nominated Amanda Seyfried (Mank), Helena Zengel (News of the World), Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy), Jodie Foster (The Mauritanian), Olivia Colman (The Father)
Should win Helena Zengel
The young German actress is so natural it makes you gulp and she and Tom Hanks (snubbed mightily, in case you hadn’t noticed) are charming together.
Will Win Amanda Seyfried
Orson Welles apologised to Marion Davies for making her look like a crummy actress in his masterpiece, Citizen Kane. Celebrating Seyfried’s wily and euphoric turn as Davies would not only be a popular move (Seyfried was superb as a ditzy blonde in Mean Girls and deserves applause for her screwball skills) but would allow Hollywood to offer a belated mea culpa to William Randolph Hearst’s much-mocked mistress.
Best Director
Nominated Chloe Zhao (Nomadland), Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), David Fincher (Mank), Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Regina King (One Night in Miami)
Should win Regina King
The awesomeness of her directing debt, One Night in Miami, should be acknowledged.
Will win Chloe Zhao
To be fair, she is a visionary. The 38 year-old, has a reverently scientific approach, approaching the weathered faces of her cast like an astronaut taking her first steps on the moon. And every gamble pays off. She gets several real nomads to play themselves and casually orchestrates their everyday epiphanies. Zhao makes it look easy but as a piece of film-making, this is basically flawless.
Best Screenplay
Nominated Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Chloe Zhao (Nomadland), Jack Fincher (Mank), Florian Zeller and Christopher Hampton (The Father), Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman)
Should win Emerald Fennell
Her hyper-caffeinated writing takes us through so many twists and turns and punctuates grim home truths with a gazillion well-earned giggles.
Will win Jack Fincher
He didn’t get the recognition he deserved in life and his son, director David, wants to put that right.
Best Animated Feature
Nominated Soul, Wolfwalkers, Onward, Over the Moon, The Croods: A New Age
Should win Soul
Obvs. It’s an ingenious study of life, death and absolutely everything in between and proves that Kemp Powers (who co-wrote the script) is a multi-tasking genius.
Will win Soul
Unless the HFPA go mad and (copying the New York Film Critics Circle) give it to Tomm Moore’s Wolfwalkers, which is nice enough but lacks the visual splendour and narrative zip of Pixar’s instant classic.
Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language
Nominated Minari, Another Round, The Life Ahead, Martin Eden, La Llorona
Should win Minari
By rights, Lee Isaac Chung’s tender and microscopically subtle drama, about a Korean family in Arkansas, should be up for a Best Motion Picture Drama award. Alas, it falls foul of the rule that says you need a minimum of 50 per cent English-language dialogue to qualify for that category. Parasite’s Best Picture win at the Oscars was a game-changer but, clearly, protectionism is still alive and well at the Globes.
Will win Minari
Because it’s the crowd-pleaser that everyone’s talking about.
TV categories
Best TV Series - Drama
Nominated The Crown, Lovecraft Country, The Mandalorian, Ozark, Ratched
Should win The Crown
Peter Morgan’s royal saga previously picked up the Globe for Best Drama back in 2017. Series four is just as dazzling as that first season, with the added bonus of Princess Diana.
Will win The Crown
None of the other nominated shows - bar perhaps The Mandalorian, which could be an interesting wild card - have generated a fraction of The Crown’s buzz. It’s a right royal shoo-in.
Best Actor in a TV Series - Drama
Nominated Jason Bateman (Ozark), Josh O’Connor (The Crown), Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul), Al Pacino (Hunters), Matthew Rhys (Perry Mason)
Should win Josh O’Connor
Yes, it’s very hard to like Prince Charles in The Crown’s fourth series, but thanks to O’Connor’s performance, you can’t help but feel a glimmer of sympathy. He helped elevate the show’s lacklustre third series, and was just as good this time around.
Will win Al Pacino
Bear with us on this one. Amazon series Hunters proved pretty divisive on its release last year, but the HFPA loves a big name, and surely no one’s bigger than Pacino?
Best Actress in a TV Series - Drama
Nominated Olivia Colman (The Crown), Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), Emma Corrin (The Crown), Laura Linney (Ozark), Sarah Paulson (Ratched)
Should win Emma Corrin
Corrin is the heart and soul of The Crown’s fourth series. She transforms effortlessly into a young Princess Diana, complete with mournful Sloaney accent and Shy Di-head tilt, but her performance never feels like a caricature. She deserves to go toe-to-toe with her more experienced co-star Colman in this category.
Will win Emma Corrin
This is surely a two horse race between two generations of Netflix royals, but Colman took the Best Actress crown last year, and the HFPA does have a track record of being swayed by new faces, so the trophy is surely Corrin’s.
Best TV Series - Comedy
Nominated Emily In Paris, The Flight Attendant, The Great, Schitt’s Creek, Ted Lasso
Should win The Great
This colourful, anachronism-laden take on life in the court of Catherine the Great from the creator of The Favourite is an absolute riot, buoyed by brilliant lead performances.
Will win Schitt’s Creek
The final season of Eugene and Dan Levy’s much-loved comedy swept the board at the Emmys last year, and now looks poised to do the same at the Golden Globes. It’s a critical hit and a success story with viewers, and has long been overlooked by the HFPA - it’d be hard to argue with a win.
Best Actor in a TV Series - Comedy
Nominated Don Cheadle (Black Monday), Nicholas Hoult (The Great), Eugene Levy (Schitt’s Creek), Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso), Ramy Youssef (Ramy)
Should win Nicholas Hoult
Hoult is skin-crawlingly ghastly as The Great’s man-child Peter III (who has more than a dash of Tony from Skins to him); he’s also long overdue some awards recognition.
Will win Eugene Levy
In case we hadn’t hammered home the message enough, this is Schitt’s Creek’s year, and the cast are bound to clean up; as the show’s biggest name, it’s a surprise that Levy Sr has never received a Golden Globe nomination before.
Best Actress in a TV Series - Comedy
Nominated Lily Collins (Emily In Paris), Kaley Cuoco (The Flight Attendant), Elle Fanning (The Great), Jane Levy (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist), Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek)
Should win Catherine O’Hara
Moira Rose’s favourite season is awards season, and O’Hara, fresh from picking up the Emmy in September, definitely deserves some belated recognition from the Globes, who’ve wilfully ignored Schitt’s Creek so far.
Will win Kaley Cuoco
From thankless love interest role in one of the most inexplicably successful shows of all time (The Big Bang Theory, sigh) to leading lady in a prestige HBO black comedy - it’s a story arc that the HFPA won’t be able to resist.
Best Limited Series or TV Film
Nominated Normal People, The Queen’s Gambit, Small Axe, The Undoing, Unorthodox
Should win Small Axe
Steve McQueen’s ground-breaking anthology series was urgent, essential viewing, which each instalment just as carefully wrought as the Oscar winner’s films; it’s an incredible achievement, and a showcase for black British acting talent.
Will win The Queen’s Gambit
This is a particularly strong category, but The Queen’s Gambit’s all-rounder status will probably swing it for the HFPA: the ensemble cast is brilliant (Marielle Heller has been robbed of a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her turn as Beth’s adopted mother), the production values are sky high and its viewing figures were wildly impressive.
Best Actor in a Limited Series or TV Film
Nominated Bryan Cranston (Your Honour), Jeff Daniels (The Comey Rule), Hugh Grant (The Undoing), Ethan Hawke (The Good Lord Bird), Mark Ruffalo (I Know This Much Is True)
Should win Hugh Grant
Give Grant the award for tentatively managing to convince us all that his character Jonathan wasn’t the total shit he obviously was until the very last episode, and then having a meltdown about clams while fleeing from the NYPD. You know it makes sense.
Will win Ethan Hawke
Hawke has won rave reviews for his turn as abolitionist John Brown, who roamed the Antebellum South freeing slaves; the winning combination of Hollywood star power and real-life story will doubtless sway voters.
Best Actress in a Limited Series or TV Film
Nominated Cate Blanchett (Mrs America), Daisy Edgar Jones (Normal People), Shira Haas (Unorthodox), Nicole Kidman (The Undoing), Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit)
Should win Anya Taylor-Joy
Taylor-Joy has turned in consistently great performances ever since her breakout role in 2015’s The Witch, so awards recognition is long overdue (this is the 24-year-old’s first major nomination). Her turn as troubled chess prodigy Beth Harmon is electric - and in a Blanchett-free year, she’d probably take the trophy.
Will win Cate Blanchett
Blanchett is a long-time favourite with the HFPA: she’s won three Golden Globes, and this is her eleventh nomination (they even nominated her last year for Where’d You Go Bernadette, a film that has been roundly forgotten even by people who actually watched it). Even in this most competitive of categories, she surely has the edge.
Best Supporting Actress
Nominated Gillian Anderson (The Crown), Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown), Julia Garner (Ozark), Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek), Cynthia Nixon (Ratched)
Should win Gillian Anderson
Anderson’s terrifyingly bouffanted Iron Lady steals every scene she’s in - which is no mean feat in a show as well-cast as The Crown.
Will win Gillian Anderson
Anderson is another long-standing Globes golden girl: back in the Nineties, she picked up three consecutive nominations for The X-Files (winning in 1997) and earned another for 2007’s Bleak House. Her transformative turn as Thatcher feels like the sort of big performance the Globes like to reward, too, though she should surely share the trophy with the hair and make-up team that kitted her out in that wig.
Best Supporting Actor
Nominated John Boyega (Small Axe), Brendon Gleeson (The Comey Rule), Dan Levy (Schitt’s Creek), Jim Parsons (Hollywood), Donald Sutherland (The Undoing)
Should win John Boyega
Boyega is long overdue a turn on the awards circuit, and now his filming commitments in a galaxy far, far away are over, he’s able to throw himself into projects worthy of his talent, like Small Axe. His performance as real-life Met Police officer Leroy Logan is staggering.
Will win Dan Levy
Sure, this might push the boundaries of ‘supporting actor’ a bit far (isn’t he a co-lead?) but the inevitable Schitt’s Creek landslide will doubtless mean that co-creator and star Levy will pick up an award of his own, which also feels well-deserved.
