What do the Golden Globes love more than a juicy dramatic performance? A juicy dramatic performance that sings.
From Austin Butler to Renée Zellweger, the Globes have long rewarded actors not known for their musical abilities who decided to show off their chops on screen in biopics. This year, that historical trend could boost the chances of two nominees: Timothée Chalamet for Best Film Drama Actor in A Complete Unknown and Angelina Jolie for Best Film Drama Actress in Maria.
In A Complete Unknown, Chalamet plays Bob Dylan. The film follows the legendary singer-songwriter from January 1961, when he moves from Minnesota to New York City, to his 1965 concert at the Newport Folk Festival, where he notoriously introduces electric instruments. Chalamet does all of his own singing in the film, refusing to lip-synch along to Dylan’s original recordings. As of today, the actor ranks second with 4/1 odds.
In Maria, Jolie plays Maria Callas. The film portrays the legendary opera singer during her final days in 1977 Paris as she confronts her legacy and mortality. Jolie prepared for the role by spending seven months training to sing classical music. Like Chalamet, she does her own singing in the film, though her voice was blended with Callas recordings in post-production. She’s currently the frontrunner with 37/10 odds to win the Globe.
Playing an iconic music performer has proven to be a cheat code to winning a Globe. Voters have tended to be impressed by those acting turns, which are high-stakes because viewers can refer to the real performer to see if the actors are nailing their performances. Prior to this year 12 actors received Golden Globe nominations for their portrayals of real-life musicians in biographical films in the 21st century, with nine of them ultimately winning:
Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles in Ray (2004)
Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon as Johnny Cash and June Carter in Walk the Line (2005)
Marion Cotillard as Édith Piaf in La Vie en Rose (2007)
Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Taron Egerton as Elton John in Rocketman (2019)
Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland in Judy (2019)
Andra Day as Billie Holiday in The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2020)
Austin Butler as Elvis Presley in Elvis (2022)
Of those, Foxx and Cotillard lip-synched their roles. Malek blended his voice with other recordings. Everyone else did most of their own singing. Only three actors this century were Golden Globe-nominated for portraying real-life singers-musicians, but didn’t win:
Kevin Spacey as Bobby Darrin in Beyond the Sea (2004); lost to the aforementioned Jamie Foxx in Ray
Meryl Streep as Florence Foster Jenkins in Florence Foster Jenkins (2016); lost to Emma Stone in La La Land
Viola Davis as Ma Rainey in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020); lost to the aforementioned Andra Day in The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Not included above but worth mentioning are Globe winner Andrew Garfield as Jonathan Larson in Tick, Tick… Boom! (2021) and Globe nominees Kevin Kline as Cole Porter in De-Lovely (2004) and Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro (2023). Those were biographical roles in films jam-packed with music, but they portrayed composers who weren’t known as performers, per se.
A musical biopic success rate of 75 percent would seem to bode well for Chalamet and Jolie in their respective categories, although the former does face stiff competition from Adrien Brody (The Brutalist). Brody is the frontrunner with 18/5 odds and he arguably has a Globes IOU to cash in, given that he lost the Globe for Best Film Drama Actor for The Pianist to Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt. Meanwhile, Chalamet is on his fourth nom, but is also looking to become a first-time winner. As shown above, playing a real-life music icon could give him a serious leg up.
