Shogun secured four awards at the 2025 Golden Globes

Shogun did what Squid Game could not by winning four Golden Globes, setting a precedent for a show with an Asian-led cast.  

The historical drama set in feudal Japan nabbed this haul at the awards ceremony held on Jan 5 in Los Angeles, with three going to its mostly Japanese cast. 

Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada won the Best Actor – Drama Series award, becoming the first from his country and the first Asian to win in that category. 

His castmate and compatriot Tadanobu Asano won Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film, becoming the first Japanese to win in that category.

South Korean series Squid Game’s O Yeong-su, a South Korean, won the same award in 2022, becoming the first Asian to do so. In 2025, the hit Netflix show received a single nomination, in the Best Television Series – Drama category, and went home empty-handed.

In his acceptance speech, an excited Asano charmed the audience by introducing himself. 

“Maybe you don’t know me. I’m an actor from Japan, and my name is Tadanobu Asano. Wow!” he said. 

Holding up his award, he ended with: “This is a very big present for me, thank you very much.”

Actress Anna Sawai was the second Japanese to win the award for Best Actress – Drama Series. She follows in the footsteps of Yoko Shimada, who won in that category in 1981 for her role in the first television adaptation of Shogun (1980). In an echo of the past, Shimada played the noblewoman Mariko in the show, as did Sawai. 

Shogun also took home the award for Best Television Series – Drama, becoming the first show with an Asian-led cast to do so. Squid Game received the same nomination in 2022, but lost to satirical drama Succession (2018 to 2023). Actor O was the sole Golden Globe winner out of Squid Games’ three nominations.  

Based on the 1975 novel by James Clavell, Shogun is set in the 17th century and follows the fortunes of English sailor John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), shipwrecked in Japan and captured by powerful ruler Lord Toranaga (Sanada). Toda Mariko (Sawai) is his interpreter, helping her superiors, including nobleman Yabushige (Asano), communicate with the Englishman. 

A second season has been confirmed and will begin filming in 2025. 

The hit musical film Wicked, directed by Chinese-American Jon M. Chu, won the Cinematic and Box Office Achievement award, a category introduced in 2023 to recognise commercially successful films with artistic merit and global support. The comedy Barbie was the inaugural winner in 2023. 

Starring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Michelle Yeoh, who were also in attendance at the show, Wicked is based on the stage musical of the same name, which is loosely based on the 1995 novel. The book itself takes inspiration from the celebrated 1939 film The Wizard Of Oz and the Oz books of author L. Frank Baum.

Chu’s onstage acceptance speech spoke of his parents’ immigrant experience. His father is from Sichuan, China, and his mother is from Taiwan. Since 1970, they have operated a successful restaurant, Chef Chu’s, in Los Altos, California. 

“My parents came to this country and loved The Wizard Of Oz. They told us about the Yellow Brick Road and the place over the rainbow where all your dreams come true if you dare to dream... So, when I’m up here looking at you, living the dream, and looking at this beautiful, beautiful cast, it’s more beautiful than I ever thought it could be,” he said.

Another relatively new category was Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television, first presented in 2024. British comedian Ricky Gervais was the inaugural winner that year. 

Chinese-American comedienne-actress Ali Wong’s 2025 win for her Netflix special Ali Wong: Single Lady makes her the first woman to win, and also the first winner of Asian descent. The latest award joins her list of accolades, including a previous win for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film for her performance in the Netflix comedy-drama Beef (2023 to present). 

In her acceptance speech, she thanked the comedy clubs of San Francisco for giving her a platform when she was a new, struggling comedienne.

For veteran actors, it was a night of vindication.  

American actress Demi Moore won Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for her work in the body horror film The Substance. She plays a fading Hollywood star who uses a mysterious drug to regain her youth, inviting horrifying consequences.

At 62, she was the oldest among the nominees, which included Amy Adams (Nightb***h), Erivo (Wicked), Karla Sofia Gascon (Emilia Perez) and Mikey Madison (Anora). 

In her acceptance speech, Moore said that in a career spanning 45 years, this was the first time she had won an award.

She recalled that 30 years ago, a producer told her she was a “popcorn actress” – someone known for working in big studio films with little artistic merit. 

“I took that to mean that this” – referring to her Golden Globe – “wasn’t something that I was allowed to have. I couldn’t be acknowledged. And that corroded me, to the point where a few years ago, I thought that this was it. I was at a low point,” she said.

Then the “absolutely bonkers” script for The Substance arrived and changed everything, she added. 

The night also saw a comeback of sorts for American actor Adrien Brody, who won Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for starring in the historical drama The Brutalist. He plays Hungarian Jewish architect Lazlo Toth, who, after escaping the Holocaust, moves to the United States where he meets a wealthy client who changes his life.

The 51-year-old catapulted to stardom starring in the 2002 biopic The Pianist, for which he won a slew of awards, including an Oscar for Best Actor. 

Since that time, acclaim has been missing from his career, a fact his acceptance speech alluded to while he was thanking English fashion designer Georgina Chapman – the former wife of disgraced Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein – whom Brody has been in a relationship with since 2020.

“To my beautiful and amazing partner, Georgina. Your generosity of spirit, your own resilience, your immense creativity are a daily reminder of how to be. I would not be standing here if it wasn’t for you. There was a time not too long ago that I felt this may never be a moment afforded to me again, so thank you.”

Main List of Winners

Film

Motion Picture – Drama: The Brutalist

Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama: Adrien Brody (The Brutalist)

Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama: Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here)

Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy: Emilia Perez

Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy: Sebastian Stan (A Different Man)

Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy: Demi Moore (The Substance)

Actor in a Supporting Role – Motion Picture: Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)

Actress in a Supporting Role – Motion Picture: Zoe Saldana (Emilia Perez)

Director – Motion Picture: Brady Corbet (The Brutalist)

Screenplay – Motion Picture: Peter Straughan (Conclave)

Original Song – Motion Picture: El Mal (Emilia Perez)

Motion Picture – Animated: Flow

Motion Picture – Non-English Language: Emilia Perez

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement: Wicked

Television

TV Series – Drama: Shogun

Actor in a TV Series – Drama: Hiroyuki Sanada (Shogun)

Actress in a TV Series – Drama: Anna Sawai (Shogun)

TV Series – Comedy Or Musical: Hacks

Actor in a TV Series – Musical/Comedy: Jeremy Allen White (The Bear)

Actress in a TV Series – Musical/Comedy: Jean Smart (Hacks)

TV Limited Series/Anthology/Movie: Baby Reindeer

Actor in a Limited Series/TV Movie: Colin Farrell (The Penguin)

Actress in a Limited Series/TV Movie: Jodie Foster (True Detective: Night Country)

Actor in a Supporting Role – TV Series: Tadanobu Asano (Shogun)

Actress in a Supporting Role – TV Series: Jessica Gunning (Baby Reindeer)

Stand-Up Comedy on Television: Ali Wong (Single Lady)

This article was originally published in The Straits Times.