Paul Drinkwater/NBC77 ceremonies in and, somehow, the Golden Globes is still making history.
While there was much criticism (and deservedly so) about the relatively homogeneous slate of nominees at the 2020 Golden Globes, held on Sunday, Jan 5—and deservedly so; the actors shortlisted for trophies this year were overwhelmingly white and, when not separated by gender, male—the ceremony thrown ever year by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to fete those they deem to be the best and brightest in the worlds of both film and television still managed to deliver a few surprising winds that were ones for the record books.
And the history-making got underway with the night's very first win, as Ramy Youssef, the star and creator of Hulu's Ramy, won the trophy for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series—Musical or Comedy, making him the first actor of Egyptian descent to win in the category in its history, beating out the likes of Bill Hader, Michael Douglas, Ben Platt and Paul Rudd. Taking the stage, he joked, "Look, I know you guys haven't seen my show. Everyone is like, 'Is this an editor?'"
Later in the evening, when the award for Best Foreign Language Film was announced, the critically-acclaimed Parasite made history with its victory as it became the first film out of South Korea to ever win the category. Accepting the award with the help of his translator Sharon Choi, director Bong Joon-ho had this to say: "Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films...I think we use only one language: the cinema."
When it came time to hand out trophies for both Best Original Score and Best Original Song, history was made on both counts. In the former case, Hildur Guðnadóttir became the first solo female to ever win the award in 77 years for her work on Joker. Not only that, but she's only the second Icelandic composer to win in the category as well. And in the latter category, when Elton John and Bernie Taupin won for "I'm Gonna Love Me Again," their contribution to Rocketman, the biopic/musical fantasia that tells the story of their storied relationship, it became the first time the duo had ever shared an award. Ever.
And before the night was out, history was made one last time when Awkwafina was revealed to be the recipient of this year's trophy for Best Actress in a Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy for her breakout turn in director Lulu Wang's deeply personal and tear-jerking film The Farewell, the Crazy Rich Asians star and comedian born Nora Lum became the first actress of Asian descent to ever win the category and the first woman of color to win since Angela Bassett's win in 1993.
"This is great," she began her speech, visibly stunned to have beaten out the likes of Beanie Feldstein, Cate Blanchett, Ana de Armas and Emma Thompson. "If I fall upon hard times I can sell this, so that's good. First of all, thank you so much to the Hollywood Foreign Press. I've never been to the Golden Globes, so I'm here now, and... it's great."
We can't wait to see what's in store next year!