2020 Golden Globes Nominations: Royals, Mobsters and Rock Stars Lead the Pack

Mike Crisolago | December 9th, 2019

The Royal Family, Hollywood legends and movie mobsters lead the cast of characters played by artists aged 45-plus following the announcement of the 77th Golden Globes nominations this morning in Los Angeles. But it is a Netflix movie, Marriage Story, starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johannson, that garnered the most recognition with six nominations.

The Crown Comes Up Big, While Helen Mirren Eyes a Unique Accolade

Season 3 of The Crown tied with Chernobyl to lead the television category with four nominations, with the historical drama about Queen Elizabeth II’s reign picking up a Best Series, Drama nod while those who played the Queen (Olivia Colman, 45), Prince Philip (Tobias Menzies, 45) and Princess Margaret (Helena Bonham Carter, 53) landed noms for Best Actress in a Drama Series, Best Actor in a Drama Series and Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series, respectively.

Meanwhile, Helen Mirren, the queen of queens on both stage and screen, scored a nomination for Best Actress in a Limited Series or Television Motion Picture for another royal role as the titular character in the HBO series Catherine the Great. A win would put Mirren in the unique position of taking home a Golden Globe for playing three different real-life monarchs. In 2007 she won Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama for her turn as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen and Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television for the title role in Elizabeth I.

An Alan Arkin Win, 53 Years in the Making?

Alan Arkin, 85, picked up a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a TV Series for his role on The Kominsky Method. If he wins, he will set a record for the longest time between Golden Globes since the Hollywood Foreign Press Association established them in 1944. Despite eight nominations over his career, Arkin’s only won one — Best Actor, Comedy or Musical for The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming in 1967 — the same year he also received a nomination in the now defunct category of Most Promising Newcomer, Male. Nabbing the award in 2020 would make it 53 years between Golden Globe wins, a tally that only a handful of stars have approached: Carol Burnett (51 years between wins), Angela Lansbury (46 years between wins), Shirley MacLaine (43 years between wins) and Jack Nicholson (40 years between wins). Henry Winkler, 74, who won his last Golden Globe in 1978 for Best Actor in a Television Series, Comedy or Musical for Happy Days (which he shared with Ron Howard), received a nomination in the same category as Arkin for his work on Barry, which would put him at 42 years between wins if he picks up the award in 2020.

Meryl, Meryl, Meryl!

Elsewhere on the television front, Meryl Streep, 70 — the most nominated person in the history of the Golden Globes — landed her 32nd nod in the Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series category for her role on Big Little Lies. Streep’s co-star Nicole Kidman, 52, landed a nom in the Best Actress in a Drama Series category, alongside Jennifer Aniston, 50, for The Morning Show, and The Crown’s Colman. Michael Douglas, 75, picked up a nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for The Kominsky Method, while actors Brian Cox, 73 (Succession) and Billy Porter, 50 (Pose) scored nominations in the Best Actor in a Drama Series category. Emily Watson, 52 (Chernobyl), Patricia Arquette, 51 (The Act) and Toni Collette, 47 (Unbelievable) join Streep and Bonham Carter in the Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series category.

A Little Irony in Elton John’s Nomination

Rocketman, the hit Elton John biopic, landed three nominations, including one for Best Picture, Comedy/Musical, one for Best Actor, Comedy/Musical (Taron Egerton) and Best Original Song for the 72-year-old rocker himself for “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again.” Ironically, John’s only win in the category came in 1995 for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from The Lion King, and 25 years later, he’s vying against a song from the remake The Lion King — Beyoncé’s “Spirit.” Meanwhile, Randy Newman, 76, who has never won a Golden Globe despite nominations for his music in movies like Toy Story and A Bug’s Life, is up for Best Original Score again in 2020 for Marriage Story.

Of Mobsters and Movie Stars

On the film side, Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman picked up five nominations, including Best Picture, Drama; Best Director (Scorsese, 77); Best Supporting Actor (both Al Pacino, 79, and Joe Pesci, 76); and Best Screenplay (Steven Zaillian, 66), leaving Robert De Niro as the only main star from the film without a nod.

Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood also scored five nominations, including for Best Picture, Comedy/Musical; Best Director and Best Screenplay (Tarantino, 56); Best Actor, Comedy/Musical (Leonardo DiCaprio, 45); and Best Supporting Actor (Brad Pitt, 55).

Pitt, however, faces some of the stiffest competition in any category, going up against Pacino, Pesci, Anthony Hopkins, 81, for The Two Popes and Tom Hanks, 63, for A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood. Regardless of the outcome on the evening, Hanks will head home with some hardware, as he’s slated to receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the ceremony.

Other Notable Nominees

Other notable 45-plus nominees include Joaquin Phoenix, 45 (Joker), Antonio Banderas, 59 (Pain and Glory), Christian Bale, 45 (Ford v. Ferrari) and Jonathan Pryce, 72 (The Two Popes) in the Best Actor, Drama category; Renée Zellweger, 50, for Best Actress, Drama (Judy); Daniel Craig, 51 (Knives Out) and Eddie Murphy, 58 (Dolemite Is My Name) for Best Actor, Comedy/Musical; Cate Blanchett, 50 (Where’d You Go, Bernadette?) and Emma Thompson, 60 (Late Night) for Best Actress, Comedy/Musical; Kathy Bates, 71 (Richard Jewell), Annette Bening, 61 (The Report),

Laura Dern, 52 (Marriage Story) and Jennifer Lopez, 50 (Hustlers) are nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category, while Anthony McCarten, 58 (The Two Popes), Bong Joon-ho, 50, and Han Jin-won (Parasite) and Noah Baumbach, 50 (Marriage Story) join Tarantino and Zaillian in the Best Screenplay category.

Click here for the full list of Golden Globes nominations. The 77th Golden Globes take place on Jan. 5, 2020.

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