As the year 2023 waved goodbyes, the 2024 award season strutted in. Hollywood first started with the Golden Globes Awards — an accolade for excellence in both American and international film and television.
The Golden Globes Awards was held at the iconic International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. Its pre-show began at 6:30 p.m. ET and the televised ceremony kicked off at 8:00 p.m. ET. The 81st Golden Globes was aired LIVE coast-to-coast on CBS and Paramount+.
In the ceremony, the film that explored J. Robert Oppenheimer and the atomic bomb creation racked up a total of awards — including Best Motion Picture Drama.
Christopher Nolan, known for his mind-bending blockbusters, won Best Director. Cillian Murphy, who played the brooding scientist in the film, was named Best Actor in a Drama.
And our very own Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. snagged Best Supporting Actor. When he went on to take his award he gave a perfectly calibrated speech made the momentum.
Robert Downey Jr.’s Heartwarming Golden Globes Award Win Speech Will Gee You Up
Robert Downey Jr. brought the superhero charisma to the stage, not as Iron Man, but as the Best Supporting Actor. He took home the Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture for his role as Lewis Strauss in Universal’s Oppenheimer.
It’s his first award at the Golden Globes in 14 years. And also his fifth Golden Globe nomination and third win. So, when he stepped on stage to take the honors his acceptance speech literally made the awards nights. The movie mogul began:
“Yeah, yeah, I took a Beta blocker so this is going to be a breeze. A sweeping story about the ethical dilemma of nuclear weapons grosses 1 billion dollars, does that track? No, unless and but because Universal went all in on Christopher Nolan, to direct Cillian Murphy with Emma Thomas producing with Emily [Blunt] and Florence [Pugh] and this cast and crew and helped them render a goddamn masterpiece.See, that’s not such a leap.”
Downey Jr. humorously joked that the award should be called “Most Improved Player.” He poked fun at his own career choices. The Hollywood star quipped about accepting that his agents were “right” when they pushed him to take on diverse projects like Oppenheimer. The 51-year-old also teased his wife, Susan Downey, as his “primary caregiver,” which was the most wholesome moment:
‘”Dozens of folks have come up to me since the summertime saying that I was ‘An recognizably subtle’ as Lewis Strauss. To my fellow nominees, let’s not pretend this is a compliment. This is a first time, it’s more of a most improved player thing. For my dueling career counsels, they had the gall to say I needed to restart my career. It is self improving agents right. Speaking of motivators, my primary caregiver right there, Susan Downey, she has literally made an art out of extracting me from my comfort Zones, that I need to feel safe! But she’s easy on the eyes, so whatevs.”
Check out his speech covered by The Hollywood Reporter:
Robert Downey Jr. wins the Golden Globe for Best Male Supporting Actor in any Motion Picture for his role in #Oppenheimer pic.twitter.com/UgSSzfpOIX
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) January 8, 2024
Downey Jr.’s fellow nominees in the category included Willem Dafoe (Poor Things), Robert De Niro (Killers of the Flower Moon), Ryan Gosling (Barbie), Charles Melton (May December) and Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things).
Robert Downey Jr. Hails Oppenheimer as Best Film of His Career
In a conversation with W Magazine Robert Downey Jr. compared his role in Oppenheimer to his stint as Iron Man. He asserted that “There have been three times” in his career when he “became completely obsessed with the possibility of playing a role.”
“The first time was for his role as Chaplin, the second was for Tony Stark in Iron Man, and the most recent is his role in Oppenheimer.” Earlier, the Iron Man star had also stated that the biopic was the “best film” he had ever worked on during his four decades of career.
