10 Favorite Golden Globe Winning Performances

by Tyler Glover and Julian Spivey

Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada)

Photo: 20th Century Fox

Meryl Streep has done it all. She has played a Holocaust survivor, a mom fighting for custody, a romance novelist, Julia Child, a nun, a violin teacher, Margaret Thatcher, a witch and an opera singer! However, the role that made me fall in love with Streep was her Golden Globe-winning performance as Miranda Priestly in “The Devil Wears Prada.” Priestly is an editor of the fashion magazine Runway. She is a boss that everyone is scared of and whose demands are nothing short of ridiculous. Streep’s performance is all the more interesting in that she doesn't scream or yell but almost whispers her demands. This makes her performance all the more chilling. One of my favorite scenes is when an employee suggests florals for spring. Miranda comes back with a sarcastic "Groundbreaking." This performance is one of my all-time favorites and it is a perfect performance and "that's all" there is to say about it. – TG 

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Bill Murray (Lost in Translation)

Photo: Focus Features

​The cool thing about the Golden Globe Awards is they honor performances in both dramatic films and that of comedy and musicals (which that part is kind of weird lumping those two things together, but oh well) and that can lead to great comedic performances, which don’t often get honored at other award shows like the Oscars. I’m a huge fan of Bill Murray and his performance in director Sofia Coppola’s 2003 film “Lost in Translation” is perfection. It’s funny, which makes it perfect for the category he won in, but it’s also a touching dramatic performance of a lonely, has-been actor finding friendship with a young, newly-married, but equally as lonely woman in Tokyo. I was really hoping Murray would win the Oscar for the same performance, but he lost to Sean Penn for “Mystic River.” – JS  

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Renee Zellweger (Chicago) 

Photo: Buena Vista Pictures

​Renee Zellweger had us all from hello in "Jerry Maguire," took us into the mind of a soap opera obsessed fan in "Nurse Betty," and made us all want to read "Bridget Jones' Diary." The role that ultimately made me a Zellweger fan was her Golden Globe-winning performance in "Chicago." Zellweger portrays Roxie Hart, an ex-chorus girl who got married but dreams of her name in lights. When she kills her lover, the press coverage offers her a chance to achieve her dreams ... if she can get off. This musical allows Zellweger to show her singing skills - something that proved to be a huge asset that ultimately helped her win a second Oscar as Judy Garland in "Judy." Every time I want a movie to "Razzle Dazzle" me, this is the film and the performance to watch. - TG

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Robert Duvall (Tender Mercies)

Photo: Universal Pictures

​One of my all-time favorite film performances in that of Robert Duvall as alcoholic country singer Mac Sledge, who has fallen on hard times in a nowhere Texas town before being save by a young widow and her son, in director Bruce Beresford’s 1983 film “Tender Mercies.” I’ve always been a fan of incredibly naturalistic performances that come off almost as if you’re watching a documentary and Duvall’s lived-in performance is a master class in such performances. The Golden Globe Awards have had a lot of ties in its history and Duvall shared his Best Actor in a Drama honor with Tom Courtenay for “The Dresser.” - JS

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Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge)

Photo: 20th Century Fox

​The movie that got me interested in paying attention to film award shows was "Moulin Rouge." I was immediately invested in the Bohemian Revolution that celebrated Freedom, Beauty, Truth and Love. The thing I love the most about this film is Nicole Kidman's Golden Globe-winning performance as Satine, a courtesan who has to choose between an opportunity to fulfill her dream of being an actress or the love of her life, a struggling writer named Christian. This musical showcases Kidman's talents as a singer, comedienne and a dramatic actress. Kidman has done so many amazing projects since this film but this one has a special place in my heart. - TG

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Gary Cooper (High Noon)

Photo: United Artists

​You have to go all the way back to the 10th Golden Globe Awards ceremony for this pick … Gary Cooper winning Best Actor in a Drama for playing Marshall Will Kane in director Fred Zinneman’s 1952 Western “High Noon.” In a tense performance by Cooper, Kane is an Old West Marshall who is retiring from law enforcement to be with his Quaker wife, an early Grace Kelly performance. But when a bad guy he put away years before comes back to town on Kane’s wedding day he’s left to protect the town on his own without any help from his deputy or the townsfolk in a thinly veiled allegory against blacklisting and McCarthyism. - JS

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Mo'Nique (Precious)

Photo: Lionsgate

​After watching "Precious" the first time, I was completely blown away by Mo'Nique's villainous performance. Prior to this film, I had only seen Mo'Nique in the hilarious UPN comedy series, "The Parkers." To say these two performances are completely different is a gross understatement. In "Precious," Mo'Nique portrays Mary, an unemployed mother who subjects her teenage daughter to emotional and verbal abuse and turns a blind eye when Precious' own father rapes their daughter. She is a horrific and violent person who keeps you on edge when she is on screen. You just do not know what this woman is capable of. Mo'Nique's performance won the Golden Globe and the Oscar and Mo'Nique is one of the most deserving winners in the history of both award shows. - TG

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Jim Carrey (Man on the Moon)

Photo: Universal Pictures

​Jim Carrey is known and beloved as a funny man, but my favorite performance of his career is the dramatic performance as comedian Andy Kaufman in Milos Forman’s 1999 biopic “Man on the Moon” about Kaufman’s career. Because it’s about Kaufman, one of comedy’s most unique performers, Carrey did win the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical and the movie is quite funny, but it also shows the dark and tragic moments of Kaufman’s career and life, as well. Carrey completely inhabits the role to where you forget you’re watching Jim Carrey and instead he becomes Andy Kaufman. It’s amazing. - JS

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Viola Davis (Fences)

Photo: Paramount Pictures

​I first became aware of Viola Davis with her performance in "Doubt" as a mom whose son may be being raped by a Catholic priest and even in just that eight minute performance, Davis shows us that a great and memorable performance can be done even in such a short time. Davis then went on to star in "The Help" as Aileen, a maid that decides to tell her story as the help to a white family in the 1960s South. Davis came this close to winning the Globe and Oscar but was bested by Meryl Streep's performance of Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady." Davis would also go on to become the first black actress to win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series for ABC's hit drama, "How To Get Away With Murder." By the time her performance in "Fences" came along, it was finally Davis' turn to take the Globe and Oscar. Davis' performance as Rose, the long suffering wife of Denzel Washington’s Troy Maxson is heartbreaking. If you have ever been in a relationship with someone who has a larger than life personality and who many times, lets his hurt and past failures affect his relationships, then you will know how difficult of a time Rose has as his wife. One thing I am not on the fence about is that Davis deserved the Globe and the Oscar for this performance. - TG

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Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line)

Photo: 20th Century Fox

​There are certainly better performances that have won Golden Globe Awards that I could’ve put in my final slot (Jack Nicholson for both “Chinatown” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Marlon Brando for “On the Waterfront” and on and on), but why not give some love to one of my favorites because it was the bringing of life of one of my all-time favorite heroes Johnny Cash to the big screen. Joaquin Phoenix won Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical (eye roll) for playing Cash in director James Mangold’s “Walk the Line.” Phoenix did his own singing for the film, which was admirable if not as close to the real thing as Jamie Foxx was the year before when he won the same award for playing Ray Charles in “Ray.” Phoenix would also be nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars where he’d lose to Philip Seymour Hoffman for “Capote.” – JS