Will any of these 7 Golden Globe nominees finally win after multiple losses?
While plenty of performers could snag a Golden Globe on their first nomination this year, there are also plenty of performers looking to win their first award from the HFPA after several prior bids that all resulted in losses. Let’s get right into some of them.
Carey Mulligan (“Maestro”) — Three prior nominations
She stars in Bradley Cooper‘s Netflix movie “Maestro,” which depicts the marriage between Felicia Montealegre (Mulligan) and Leonard Bernstein (Cooper). She delivers a powerful performance and is nominated for Best Drama Actress alongside Sandra Hüller (“Anatomy of a Fall”), Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Greta Lee (“Past Lives”), Annette Bening (“Nyad”), and Cailee Spaeny (“Priscilla”). Mulligan was previously nominated in this category in 2010 for “An Education” and in 2021 for “Promising Young Woman.” She also picked up a 2023 Best Supporting Actress nomination for “She Said.” Mulligan is not predicted to win this category at the moment as we have Gladstone in first place, but Mulligan is right behind her, and it wouldn’t be a shock win if she could pull off a victory.
Willem Dafoe (“Poor Things”) — Three prior nominations
Searchlight Pictures’ “Poor Things” follows Emma Stone as a woman brought back to life by Dr. Godwin Baxter. Dafoe plays that father figure and he delivers yet another strong performance. He’s nominated for Best Supporting Actor along with his co-star Mark Ruffalo, plus Robert Downey Jr. (“Oppenheimer”), Robert De Niro (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Charles Melton (“May December”), and Ryan Gosling (“Barbie”). We aren’t predicting Dafoe will break his losing streak here as this is perhaps the most competitive category not just at this particular awards ceremony but in this entire awards season. Dafoe was previously nominated for Best Supporting Actor in 2001 for “Shadow of the Vampire” and in 2018 for “The Florida Project.” He then picked up a Best Drama Actor bid in 2019 for his role in “At Eternity’s Gate.”
Margot Robbie (“Barbie”) — Four prior nominations
Warner Bros.’ “Barbie,” which took the world by a pink, glittery storm, is a showcase for Robbie as the living doll who swaps Barbie Land for the real world after she undergoes an existential crisis. She’s nominated here for Best Comedy/Musical Actress, alongside Stone (“Poor Things”), Fantasia Barrino (“The Color Purple”), Natalie Portman (“May December”), Alma Pöysti (“Fallen Leaves”), and Jennifer Lawrence (“No Hard Feelings”). Again, we aren’t predicting Robbie to win here as we have Stone in first place but Robbie would also be a surprise win that would make complete sense (“Barbie” is the most nominated Globes film of all time so they clearly love it). Robbie was previously nominated for Best Comedy/Musical Actress and Best Comedy/Musical Picture in 2018 for “I, Tonya” before she picked up a 2020 Best Supporting Actress bid for “Bombshell.” She then landed a Best Comedy/Musical Actress nomination again in 2023 — for “Babylon.” Robbie is also nominated this year for Best Comedy/Musical Picture as a producer on”Barbie” and we think she will win her first Golden Globe for that one.
Kieran Culkin (“Succession”) — Four prior nominations
He stars in HBO’s “Succession,” which follows a family scrabbling for power after the patriarch steps down from his position as the head of a powerful media company. Culkin has earned plenty of plaudits for his role in the series but has never won a Globe for his turn. He was previously nominated three times for “Succession,” all for Best Supporting TV Actor, in 2019, 2020, and 2022. He also picked up a 2003 Best Comedy/Musical Actor nomination for “Igby Goes Down.” He is nominated for a fifth time overall this year for Best Drama TV Actor for “Succession,” where he’s up against co-stars Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox as well as Pedro Pascal (“The Last of Us”), Gary Oldman (“Slow Horses”), and Dominic West (“The Crown”). We are predicting that he will win this category and finally take home his first Golden Globe.
Woody Harrelson (“White House Plumbers”) — Four prior nominations
He hasn’t won a Golden Globe despite four prior nominations. His first bid came in 1997 for Best Drama Actor for “The People vs. Larry Flynt.” He then picked up a Best Supporting Actor bid in 2010 for “The Messenger.” He then reaped two nominations for Best Limited Series/TV Movie Actor — in 2013 for “Game Change” and in 2015 for “True Detective.” He received his third nomination in this category and fifth nomination overall this year for his work in HBO’s “White House Plumbers.” This time, he’s nominated alongside Steven Yeun (“Beef”), Jon Hamm (“Fargo”), Matt Bomer (“Fellow Travelers”), David Oyelowo (“Lawmen: Bass Reeves”), and Sam Claflin (“Daisy Jones and the Six”). We do not predict that Harrelson will win this time around either, as we think Yeun will prevail.
Bradley Cooper (“Maestro”) — Six prior nominations
Mulligan’s co-star has a rich history at the Golden Globes. He was first nominated in 2013 for Best Comedy/Musical Actor for “Silver Linings Playbook” before picking up a second nomination in 2014 for Best Supporting Actor for “American Hustle.” Cooper then secured a trio of nominations for “A Star is Born” in 2019 — for Best Drama Picture, Best Drama Actor, and Best Drama Director. He was also nominated for Best Drama Picture for his work as a producer on “Joker” in 2020. He returns with the same hattrick of nominations he received in 2019, only this time with Netflix’s “Maestro,” bringing his total tally of GG bids to nine. He’s nominated for Best Director alongside Christopher Nolan (“Oppenheimer”), Martin Scorsese (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Greta Gerwig (“Barbie”), Yorgos Lanthimos (“Poor Things”), and Celine Song (“Past Lives”). We’re predicting Nolan to win that one. “Maestro” is nominated alongside “Oppenheimer,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Past Lives,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” and “The Zone of Interest” in Best Drama Picture. Again, we think “Oppenheimer” will emerge victorious there. However, we are predicting that Cooper will indeed win his first Golden Globe this time around — for Best Drama Actor. We think he’ll triumph over rival nominees Cillian Murphy (“Oppenheimer”), Leonardo DiCaprio (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Colman Domingo (“Rustin”), Andrew Scott (“All of Us Strangers”), and Barry Keoghan (“Saltburn”).
Steve Martin (“Only Murders in the Building”) — Seven prior nominations
Hulu’s hit comedy series follows three true crime-loving strangers who become involved in a murder case in the New York City apartment building they live in. Martin is one third of the magical mix alongside Selena Gomez and Martin Short and he has found renewed success in his career as a result — a career, by the way, that has now amassed eight Golden Globe nominations in total. He previously picked up five nominations for Best Comedy/Musical Actor. They came for “Pennies From Heaven” in 1982, “All of Me” in 1985, “Roxanne” in 1988, “Parenthood” in 1990, and “Father of the Bride Part II” in 1996. “Only Murders in the Building” then secured him two nominations for Best Comedy TV Actor — in 2022 and 2023. This nomination is his third for “Only Murders in the Building” and eighth overall. The fact that Martin has never won a Golden Globe is a head-scratcher. This time, he’s nominated alongside Jeremy Allen White (“The Bear”), Bill Hader (“Barry”), Jason Sudeikis (“Ted Lasso”), Jason Segel (“Shrinking”), and co-star Short. Unfortunately, we are predicting that Martin’s losing streak will continue as we believe that White will win for “The Bear.”
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