The Best Quotes from the 2019 Golden Globes Acceptance Speeches
The 2019 Golden Globes red carpet may not have had as many memorable talking points as last year's #TimesUp-dominated arrivals, but there were plenty of meaningful moments during the telecast of the actual ceremony. Click through for some of the best, funniest, and most inspirational quotes from the 2019 Golden Globes acceptance speeches. (Photos via Paul Drinkwater/NBC)
Peter A. Ramsey:Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse won the Globe for Best Animated Film, and although co-director Peter A. Ramsey was played off mid-speech, his words about why he and the rest of the team wanted to make a representative superhero film are worth hearing (or reading).
"We were trying to make a movie that spoke to the idea that anyone can be behind the mask," he said. "We're telling the story of Miles Morales, a kid from Brooklyn, African American, Puerto Rican. … Anybody can be behind the mask. We're counting on you. You can do it." Hear, hear, Spider-Verse! (Photo via Paul Drinkwater/NBC)
Ben Whishaw: In the Amazon Prime miniseries A Very English Scandal, Whishaw played the role of Norman Scott, ex-lover of British politician Jeremy Thorpe, in a time of widespread homophobia. In his speech, he not only thanked the cast, crew, and the BBC, but also gave a meaningful nod to the man he portrayed. "[He] took on the establishment with courage and a defiance that I find completely inspiring," he said. "He's a true queer hero and icon. Norman, this is for you." (Photo via Paul Drinkwater/NBC)
Carol Burnett: "Does this mean I get to accept it every year?" the comedy icon joked upon stepping to the mic to accept the first Carol Burnett Award, a new TV special achievement award created by the HFPA in her honor.
She went on to reflect on her decades-long career in showbiz. "My first love growing up was in the movies. I'd see as many as six to eight films a week with my grandmother who raised me, and then later, when I was a teenager, we got our first television set, and then I had a new love," she began. "But regardless of the medium, what fascinated me was the way the stars on the screen could make people laugh or cry or sometimes both, and I wished and I hoped that maybe, just maybe, someday I could have the chance to do the same thing."
"We've been granted a gift, a canvas to paint with our talent, one that can make people laugh or cry or maybe do both," she continued. "So this award, oh, my gosh, so generously named after me, is dedicated to all those who made my dreams come true and to all those out there who share the love I have for television, and who yearn to be part of this unique medium that has been so good to me. I'm just happy our show happened when it did and that I can look back and say once more, 'I am so glad we had this time together.'" (Photo via Paul Drinkwater/NBC)
Regina King: After an excited list of thank yous from Regina King for her Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture win, the music began to play her off-stage. King kept talking, though, and the play-off music eventually stopped so the audience could hear her impassioned speech on the #TimesUp movement and her vow to work for better female representation on screen.
"So often, everyone out there, they hear us on the red carpet and they say a celebrity is using the time to talk about ourselves when we are on our soap box and using a moment to talk about the systemic things that are going on in life," the If Beale Street Could Talk star said. "The reason why we do this is because we understand that our microphones are big and we are speaking for everyone. And I just want to say that I'm going to use my platform right now to say, in the next two years, everything that I produce I'm making a vow — and it's going to be tough — to make sure that everything that I produce that is 50 percent women. And I just challenge anyone out there who is in a position of power, not just in our industry, in all industries, I challenge you to challenge yourselves and stand with us in solidarity and do the same." (Photo via Paul Drinkwater/NBC)
Sandra Oh: Oh took a short break from her co-hosting duties to accept the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series, Drama, for her role in Killing Eve. The actress was overjoyed and emotional, and made sure to shout out her super-supportive parents, who were in attendance to see their daughter make history as both the first person of Asian descent to host the show, and the first Asian actor to win Golden Globes in multiple categories.
"I'm so grateful for my family," she said. "There are two people here tonight that I am so grateful that they are here with me. I'd like to thank my mother and my father." Then, addressing them directly, she said she loved them in Korean and bowed respectfully. (Photo via Paul Drinkwater/NBC)
Darren Criss: Accepting the award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, American Crime Story actor Darren Criss paid tribute to his teachers (including his fellow nominees) and then to his mom. "As we've seen, this has been a marvelous year for representation in Hollywood, and I am so enormously proud to be a teeny-tiny part of that as the son of a firecracker Filipina woman from Cebu who dreamed of coming to this country and getting to be invited to cool parties like this," he said. "So, Mom, I know you're watching this. You are hugely responsible for most of the good things in my life. I love you dearly. I dedicate this to you." (Photo via Paul Drinkwater/NBC)
Olivia Colman: The Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, went to Olivia Colman for her role in The Favourite, and while she played the decidedly more serious role of Queen Anne in the film, her speech was a refreshingly goofy delight.
"Hello. Oh, lighting. Thank you so much. I'm not going to cry because my entire table will point and laugh at me because I've been crying all evening. Right? Hi. Thank you for the sandwiches," she said, presumably to Melissa McCarthy. She went on to thank the HFPA before referring in a silly voice to her costars. "And my bitches, Emma [Stone] and Rachel [Weisz]. Thank you. Every second of working with you girls was such a joy. It was so much fun. I was so sad to be finished. And I would like to tell you how much this film means to me, but I can't because I'm too excited because [bleep]. I went on a private jet, and I ate constantly throughout the film. It was brilliant. And I promise I will keep on enjoying this, because this is amazing. Look at you beautiful people. Thank you so much. And I'm going now. And Ed and the kids, look. Yea!" (Photo via Paul Drinkwater/NBC)
Brad Simpson: The Assassination of Gianni Versace executive producer Brad Simpson got political as he accepted the Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. "Gianni Versace was one of very few public figures who was out during a time of intense fear and hate," Simpson said. "Those forces of hate and fear are still with us — they tell us we should be scared of people who are different than us, they tell us we should put walls around ourselves. As artists, we must fight back by representing those who are not represented and by providing a space for people who are new voices to tell stories that haven’t been told." He went on to say that, "as human beings, we should resist in the streets, resist at the ballot box, and practice love and empathy in our everyday lives. Our show is a period piece, but those forces are not historical. They're here, they're with us, and we must resist." (Photo via Paul Drinkwater/NBC)
Glenn Close: Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama, went to Glenn Close for her role in The Wife, which hit uncomfortably close to home for the star. "It was called The Wife. I think that's why it took 14 years to get made," she said, laughing, before continuing on a more serious note. "To play a character is so internal. And I'm thinking of my mom, who sublimated herself to my father her whole life."
Tearing up, she continued: "And in her eighties, she said to me, 'I feel I haven't accomplished anything.' And it was so not right, and I feel what I've learned through this whole experience is women, we're nurturers — that's what's expected of us. We have our children. We have our husbands, if we're lucky enough, and our partners, whoever. But we have to find personal fulfillment. We have to follow our dreams. We have to say, 'I can do that. And I should be allowed to do that.'" The audience, many of whom were also in tears, erupted into a standing ovation. (Photo Paul Drinkwater/NBC)
