Golden Globe glory for British stars and Bohemian Rhapsody

British stars and the story of one of the UK’s biggest bands stole the show at this year’s Golden Globes.

Olivia Colman, Christian Bale, Richard Madden and Ben Whishaw were all winners, while Bohemian Rhapsody, the story of Queen and Freddie Mercury, picked up two of the biggest gongs of the night – for best actor and best film in the drama category.

Accepting his award, Rami Malek, who plays the legendary frontman, said: “Thank you to Freddie Mercury for giving me the joy of a lifetime. This is for you, gorgeous.”

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It was something of an unexpected victory for the Queen biopic, which beat favourite A Star Is Born, starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, to the top award.

Glenn Close was also a surprise winner in the best drama actress category, with Lady Gaga having been tipped for success ahead of the ceremony.

Green Book scooped three awards: best supporting actor, best screenplay and best musical or comedy motion picture.

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Colman was named best actress in a comedy or musical award, for her portrayal of Queen Anne in The Favourite, while Bale picked up the same acting prize in the men’s category for his role as former vice-president Dick Cheney in Vice.

Collecting her prize, Colman said: “Cor blimey, thank you so much. I’m not going to cry because my entire table will point and laugh at me…

“I would like to tell you how much working on this film meant to me but I can’t remember because I’m too excited.”

She also jokingly referred to her co-stars Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz as “ma bitches”.

Bale thanked his director Adam McKay, joking that the filmmaker chose him because he thought “I have got to find someone who can be completely charisma-free and vile – it’s got to be Bale”.

He also thanked “Satan for giving me inspiration for this role”.

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Madden won the gong for best TV drama actor for Bodyguard, while Whishaw’s accolade was for best actor in a TV limited series, for A Very English Scandal.

The Golden Globes is the first major ceremony of the Hollywood awards season, and had been billed as the “party of the year”.

Last year’s ceremony saw the majority of stars dressed in black, highlighting the Time’s Up movement in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.

While the mood was somewhat lighter this year, the initiative was still referenced by stars including Colman, Close, Regina King and Reese Witherspoon.

The ceremony was hosted by Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Andy Samberg and Killing Eve’s Sandra Oh – who also got to shine on the winner’s podium, collecting the award for best actress in a TV drama for the hit show.

Before that, Oh opened the event – the most diverse Golden Globes yet, with films including Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians among the nominees – with an emotional speech about changes in Hollywood in the past year.

She said: “I said yes to the fear of being on this stage tonight because I wanted to be here to look out to this audience and witness this moment of change.

“And I’m not fooling myself, next year could be different – it probably will be – but right now this moment is real.

“Trust me, it is real because I see you and I see you, all these faces of change – and now so will everyone else.”

The Canadian-Korean actress made history on the night, becoming the first Asian host of the Globes and the first woman of Asian descent to win multiple awards – having won a Golden Globe for her supporting role in medical drama Grey’s Anatomy in 2006.

While A Star Is Born and its two stars missed out on the top gongs, it didn’t go home empty-handed, winning the best song award for Shallow, co-written by Mark Ronson.

However, it was a disappointing night for a film that received five nominations.

Mary Poppins Returns, which was nominated for five, also left without any trophies.

Here is a full list of winners:

Best Motion Picture Drama – Bohemian Rhapsody

Best Motion Picture, Musical Or Comedy – Green Book

Best Actor, Motion Picture Drama – Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody

Best Actress, Motion Picture Drama – Glenn Close, The Wife

Best Actor, Musical or Comedy – Christian Bale, Vice

Best Actress, Motion Picture Musical or Comedy – Olivia Colman, The Favourite

Best Director, Motion Picture – Alfonso Cuaron, Roma

Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture – Mahershala Ali, Green Book

Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture – Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk

Best Motion Picture Foreign Language – Roma

Best Motion Picture, Animated – Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse

Best Screenplay – Green Book

Original Song, Motion Picture – Shallow, A Star Is Born

Best TV Series Drama – The Americans

Best Actor, TV Series Drama – Richard Madden, Bodyguard

Best Actress, TV Series Drama – Sandra Oh, Killing Eve

Best TV Series, Musical or Comedy – The Kominski Method

Best Actor, TV Musical or Comedy – Michael Douglas

Best Actress, TV Series Musical Or Comedy – Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvellous Mrs Maisel

Best Limited Series/TV Movie – The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

Best Actor, Limited Series/ TV Movie – Darren Criss, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

Best Actress, Limited Series/TV movie – Patricia Arquette – Escape at Dannemora

Best Supporting Actress, Series/Limited Series/TV Movie – Patricia Clarkson, Sharp Objects

Best Supporting Actor, Limited Series/TV movie/Series – Ben Whishaw, A Very English Scandal

(c) Sky News 2019: Golden Globe glory for British stars and Bohemian Rhapsody