Will Smith bags his first Golden Globes for 'King Richard'
Actor, rapper, and film producer Will Smith has bagged his first Golden Globe award for his role as Richard Williams in the 2021 biographical drama King Richard. He received the Best Actor award under Motion Picture (Drama) category. The film followed the life of famous tennis players Venus and Serena Williams's father. Meanwhile, Jeremy Strong bagged the same prize under the Television Series category.
Why does the story matter?
Smith had been nominated for Golden Globe awards five times earlier, but this is his first win. King Richard has been directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green. Mahershala Ali (Swan Song), Javier Bardem (Being the Ricardos), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog), and Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth) were the other nominees for the Best Actor award under Motion Picture (or films) category.
Can Smith's win end his Academy Award drought, too?
Experts say Smith's Golden Globe win might be able to end his Academy Award drought, too, as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA)-backed award is known to be an indicator of Oscars. Besides him, the film stars Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Tony Goldwyn, and Jon Bernthal. The American Film Institute has named King Richard "one of the best films of 2021."
'The Power Of Dog' cracked three of its seven nominations
Coming to the other winners, The Power Of The Dog, which received the maximum nominations (seven), won the maximum, too (three). The Western psychological drama won in the Drama, Supporting Actor (Kodi Smit-McPhee), and Director (Jane Campion) categories. Nicole Kidman was adjudged the best actress for Being the Ricardos, while Andrew Garfield (tick, tick... BOOM!) was the Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy.
O Yeong-su became first Korean to individually win Golden Globe
O Yeong-su became the first Korean actor to win any Golden Globe award individually. The 77-year-old veteran actor took home the trophy in the Best Supporting Actor category for Netflix smasher Squid Game. The survival drama got nominations in three major categories.
This year's winners were announced in celebrity-free ceremony
This year, Golden Globes had no red carpet or any host. The HFPA held the ceremony in private and the winners were announced online and on HFPA's website. This comes after the event was boycotted by media organizations and streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon citing the lack of diversity in the organization. HFPA has since been working toward increasing diversification in its board.
