Golden Globes 2023 recap: The Banshees of Inisherin and The Fabelmans win top prizes

After two years away from the spotlight, the Golden Globes returned in earnest on Tuesday (10 January).

The awards ceremony, organised by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), has spent the past two years embroiled in controversy over diversity and “ethical lapses” in its business conduct. After the HFPA implemented changes to the make-up of its voting body, and instituted a new ethical code of conduct, many of the high-profile actors who had boycotted the Globes returned for this year’s ceremony, which was televised on NBC.

The night, hosted by comedian Jerrod Carmichael, threw up few surprises when it came to winners. Pretty much all of the films expected to succeed – including The Fabelmans, The Banshees of Inisherin and Everything Everywhere All at Once – walked away with multiple prizes.

Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical drama The Fabelmans bagged two of the biggest awards of the night: Best Motion Picture – Drama, and for Best Director. Meanwhile, The Banshees of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh’s tale of broken friendship set in rural Ireland, won for Best Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Screenplay (for McDonagh) and Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy (for Colin Farrell).

Elsewhere in the acting categories, Michelle Yeoh took home the trophy for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, for her lead role in the madcap multiverse indie Everything Everywhere All at Once. Accepting the award, 60-year-old Malaysian star delivered a powerful speech about the racism she’d experienced upon transitioning to Hollywood.

Yeoh’s co-star Ke Huy Quan scooped up the first prize of the night, for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy, thanking Spielberg in his speech – the director first cast him as a child back in 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Meanwhile, Angela Bassett paid tribute to Chadwick Boseman after becoming the first actor to win a Globe for a performance in a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.

The TV awards were slightly less easy to predict – not least the coveted Best Drama prize, which went to the Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon. Accepting the award, showrunner Miguel Sapochnik appeared surprised that the popular fantasy series was able to pip Apple TV’s Severance, Netflix’s The Crown, Better Caul Saul and Ozark to the post.

Elsewhere in the TV categories, ABC’s mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary enjoyed a successful evening, landing wins in the Best Musical or a Comedy Series, Best Actress and Supporting Actor categories, with the latter awards going to creator-star Quinta Brunson and Tyler James Williams, respectively. Jeremy Allen White won the Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy award for his captivating turn in the taut restaurant dramedy The Bear.

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Buzzy HBO hit The White Lotus was another of the night’s big victors, garnering wins for Best Limited Series and Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series for Jennifer Coolidge. Earlier in the night, Coolidge presented one of the awards, drawing high praise from viewers for her comedic prowess.

Those expecting barbed comments and condemnatory speeches from the stars in attendance may have been slightly underwhelmed.

The HFPA’s recent scandals haven’t all been forgotten, however – there were perhaps more absentee winners than you might usually expect at an awards show of this size, including Kevin Costner, who won Best TV Actor in a Drama for his role in the Western series Yellowstone, and Cate Blanchett, who won the Best Actress award for her role in the acclaimed conductor drama TÁR.

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In his opening monologue, Carmichael joked about the HFPA’s racism scandal, remarking: “I won’t say the HFPA is racist but, they didn’t have a single Black member until George Floyd died – do with that information what you will.”

There were flashes of contentiousness in the speeches, including Eddie Murphy, who dropped an “F-bomb” while evoking the words shouted by Will Smith during last year’s infamous Oscar night.

“I want to let you know that there is a definitive blueprint that you can follow to achieve success, prosperity, longevity... One, pay your taxes. Two, mind your business. Three, keep Will Smith’s wife’s name out your f***ing mouth!” said the actor, who was accepting the honorary Cecil B DeMille Award.

Other more light-hearted moments included multiple actors refusing to be played off before their speech was over – including Yeoh, who jokingly threatened to “beat up” the person responsible.

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Among those not attending the ceremony was Brendan Fraser, who was nominated for the award for Best Actor in a Drama, for his role in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale.

Fraser had said in advance that he would be absent from proceedings, having long alleged that he was sexually assaulted by Philip Berk, the former president of the HFPA. Berk has denied the claim. The trophy was ultimately awarded to Austin Butler for his role as Elvis Presley in the musical biopic Elvis.

It was a night of somewhat mixed emotions, with the shadow of recent scandals still hanging over the longrunning award season fixture. From an Oscar standpoint, it’s clear that The Fabelmans and Banshees of Inisherin are still the ones to beat.

Find the full list of winners at the Golden Globes here, and all the updates from the event, as they happened, here.