Golden Globes 2022: British winners at behind closed doors ceremony

Kate Winslet and Kenneth Branagh were flying the flag for the British stars at the 2022 Golden Globes on Sunday evening as they both took home awards.

The Reading born actress, 46, was given the Best Actress in a Limited Series or Television Movie gong for her role as Mare Sheehan in dectective series Mare of Easttown during the coveted ceremony.

Northern Ireland native Kenneth Branagh, 61, was awarded Best Screenplay for his semi-autobiographical film Belfast, which chronicles the life of a working class family and their young son’s childhood during the tumult of the late 1960s.

British-American star, Andrew Garfield, 38, scooped the gong for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical in Tick, Tick… Boom! 

Mare Of Easttown – which had already won critical acclaim at the Primetime Emmys last year – follows the story of Mare, a detective from Pennsylvania who tries her best to prevent her life from falling apart while investigating a mysterious murder.

It marks the sixth time Kate has been recognised with a Golden Globe award for her acting work, after first winning in the Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama category for Little Children in 2007.

She has also won a gong for Best Supporting Actress twice, for her work in The Reader (2009) and Steve Jobs (2016).

In 2007 was given a Best Actress Golden Globe for her role in Revolutionary Road and Best Actress in a Miniseries for Mildred Pierce in 2012.

This is the first time Branagh has been awarded a Golden Globe, after first being awarded in 1993 in the Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy category for Much Ado About Nothing.

He had previously been nominated in the Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film for his roles in, Conspiracy (2005), Warm Springs (2009) Wallander (2011).

Branagh was given a nod for Best Supporting Actor in Motion Picture My Week with Marilyn in 2011, however he did not take home the award.

This year, Belfast was also recognised in the Best Motion Picture and Best Director categories, but lost out on both to Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog.

The Power of the Dog cleaned up on the Drama awards and West Side Story dominated Comedy or Musical, Will Smith won his first Golden Globe for his critically-acclaimed performance in King Richard. 

The Power Of the Dog won three of the seven awards it was nominated for, Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and Best Director – Motion Picture ( Campion).

MJ Rodriguez also made Golden Globes history as the first ever trans woman to win a Globe, winning for Best Actress in a TV Series – Drama for FX’s Pose.

The 76th annual awards ceremony ceremony was a little different than usual this year, having been scaled-back by its organisers.

Staff members representing various non-profits supported by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association were on hand to announce winners on Sunday’s ceremony, with the only celebrity presence being Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis’ speeches on philanthropy via video link.

It was revealed Tuesday by Variety that the Globes’ talent booker reached out to several publicity agencies about getting celebrity presenters, but no celebs agreed to take part.

HFPA president Helen Hoehne, gave a speech focusing on the organisation’s attempts to diversify and a focus on its philanthropy work after a controversial year which culminated in last year’s televised ceremony suffering a 60% drop in viewers. 

‘Last year the Hollywood Foreign Press Association was challenged to change – and we did,’ said Hoehne. ‘Both internally, within the Association, as well as adding 21 members to bring fresh perspectives.

‘We are on a journey of change and we’re not going to rest. We are going to be outspoken about what we’re learning and challenge others to join us.’

Kyle Bowser, senior vice-president of the NAACP Hollywood Bureau, spoke of the ‘Reimagine Coalition,’ a joint five-year initiative to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion across the global entertainment industry. ‘Imagination is the currency that sustains and propels the entertainment industries,’ he said during the ceremony.

A series of LA Times investigations last year revealed the lack of diversity in the HFPA’s voting membership. he expose reported that the 2021 voting panel did not include any Black members. 

In response to the LA Times article, the HPFA introduced a series of new bylaws and in October 2021, appointed 21 new voters to their board and created a new board of directors.

The organization reports that it is the largest and most diverse class of new members in its history. They report that six of the new members are Black, 10 are women, six are Latinx, five are Asian and four are Middle Eastern/North African. 

They also announced they hoped by 2023, the ethnic-minority of membership of the HFPA will have increased by 50%.

Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson were the stars leading calls for a Golden Globes boycott, with Scarlett saying she had faced ‘sexist questions and remarks by certain HFPA members that bordered on sexual harassment.’

She released a statement last year that read: ‘As an actor promoting a film, one is expected to participate in awards season by attending press conferences as well as awards shows.

‘In the past, this has often meant facing sexist questions and remarks by certain HFPA members that bordered on sexual harassment. It is the exact reason why I, for many years, refused to participate in their conferences.’

She continued: ‘Unless there is necessary fundamental reform within the organization, I believe it is time that we take a step back from the HFPA and focus on the importance and strength of unity within our unions and the industry as a whole’.  

This year’s nominations included nine people of colour across the acting and directing categories – the same number as for the 2021 awards.