Uganda’s Kaluuya wins Golden Globe for ‘Judas’

Daniel Kaluuya

The Hollywood’s awards season kicked off Sunday at a very different Golden Globes, with winners dialing in remotely to a ceremony that battled through technical glitches and a few awkward moments as the stars doled out prizes and confronted controversy over a lack of diversity among event organizers.

Usually a star-packed party that draws Tinseltown’s biggest names to a Beverly Hills hotel ballroom, this pandemic edition was broadcast from identical sets in California and New York, with essential workers and a few glamorous A-list presenters among the few in attendance.

Kaluuya bested a talented field that included Sacha Baron Cohen (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”), Jared Leto (“The Little Things”), Bill Murray (“On the Rocks”) and Leslie Odom Jr (“One Night in Miami”).

The night was hit with an immediate technical glitch, as the first winner, Kaluuya, initially lost sound for his acceptance speech, forcing in-studio presenter Laura Dern to apologize before audio was restored.

“You’re doing me dirty! Am I on?” joked best supporting actor Kaluuya, before paying tribute to late Black Panther leader Fred Hampton, who he played in “Judas and the Black Messiah.”

“I hope generations after this can see how brilliantly he fought, how brilliantly he spoke, and how brilliantly he loved,” he said of Hampton.

In other early film awards, Jodie Foster accepted the prize for best supporting actress for Guantanamo legal drama “The Mauritanian” alongside her wife at home, telling viewers: “I just never expected to ever be here again.”

Korean-American immigrant family drama “Minari” won the Globe for best foreign language film.

Pixar’s “Soul” — mispronounced by presenter Tracy Morgan as “Sawl,” to widespread amusement among the various stars appearing on videolink — won best animated feature, as well as best musical score.

Unlike the Oscars, the Globes split most movie categories into drama and “musical or comedy,” with Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Borat” sequel and the Disney+ film of hit musical “Hamilton” expected to lead the latter fields.

Daniel Kaluuya born February 24, 1989 is a British actor and writer with a Ugandan origin born to Damalie Namusoke and Stephen Kaluuya.

He began his career as a teenager in improvisational theatre where he subsequently portrayed Posh Kenneth the first two seasons of the British television series Skins, in which he co-wrote some of the episodes.

Playing the lead role in Sucker Punch at the Royal Court Theatre in London, Kaluuya was particularly praised for his performance and he won both the Evening Standard Award and Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Outstanding Newcomer.

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