Teyana Taylor Steals the Show at Golden Globes
Teyana Taylor’s stirring speech after her Golden Globe win for ‘One Battle After Another’ left the crowd moved, as the film swept several major awards on the night.
There was no shortage of memorable moments at this year’s Golden Globe Awards, but Teyana Taylor’s acceptance speech stood out from the rest. Taking home the award for Best Supporting Female Actor in a Motion Picture, Taylor’s performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s much-talked-about film One Battle After Another has been the talk of the town. She plays Perfidia Beverly Hills, a revolutionary and the missing partner of Leonardo DiCaprio’s Bob Ferguson, both part of the radical French 75 group.
On the night of Sunday, 11 January, Taylor found herself up against some big names: Amy Madigan for Weapons, Emily Blunt for The Smashing Machine, Ariana Grande for Wicked: For Good, and both Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter for Sentimental Value. Despite the tough competition, Taylor clinched the Globe. Fighting back tears, she admitted she hadn’t even bothered to write a speech, not expecting to win.
She told the crowd, “Thank you to the Golden Globe voters for seeing me and reminding me that purpose always finds its moment. To my mummy and my daddy, it’s up for y’all any time, I love you all so much, thank you for being here with me tonight. To my tribe, my joy, my daily reminder that love is an action, not just a word, and everything that I do is rooted in that truth.
To Paul ‘Let ’Em Cook’ Thomas Anderson: thank you for your vision, your trust, and your brilliance. My gratitude is endless, I love you, we love you, and thank you so much for holding space for me and our entire cast. None of this is taken lightly and none of this is taken for granted.
And last but most importantly, to my brown sisters and little brown girls watching tonight: our softness is not a liability, our depth is not too much, our light does not need permission to shine. We belong in every room we walk into, our voices matter, and our dreams deserve space.”
Big Night for ‘One Battle After Another’
The film didn’t just stop at Taylor’s win. One Battle After Another picked up four trophies in total, including Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Director for Anderson. Taylor was the only cast member to score an acting award, but the rest of the ensemble is still in the running for other ceremonies. The cast list is a who’s who, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Chase Infiniti, Regina Hall, Wood Harris, Alana Haim, Paul Grimstad, Shayne McHayle, Tony Goldwyn, John Hoogenakker, Starlette DuPois, Eric Schweig, D. W. Moffett, Kevin Tighe, Jim Downey, James Raterman, Dijon Duenas, and Dan Chariton.
Critics have been quick to heap praise on Taylor’s performance. Some reckon she’s a strong contender for an Oscar, with the Academy Award nominations just around the corner on Thursday, 22 January. The buzz around her portrayal of Perfidia Beverly Hills has only grown louder since the Globes.
Critical Acclaim and Standout Performances
One reviewer summed up the film’s approach:
“Anderson’s script gets granular to show the nuts and bolts of revolutionary movements. The French 75 run a sophisticated operation that utilises elaborate code words, phrases and ingenious technology to thwart surveillance. The militants are aware of their adversaries’ significant advantages, and play to every weakness they can exploit. But this level of complexity also requires an ongoing discipline to which every member must adhere. DiCaprio gets big laughs as Bob’s years of getting high and hammered lead him to forget critically important details, his ire and frustration reaching a boil when trying to communicate under duress.”
The film’s characters are given plenty of room to breathe, with Taylor’s Perfidia described as a force to be reckoned with.
“One Battle After Another’s character motivations are richly explored. Taylor thrusts herself into Oscar contention as a fierce warrior, playing Perfidia as a lioness who savours the hunt. Perfidia is both an asset and a liability; she’s integral to the French 75’s cohesiveness, but she’s also a firebrand target for their powerful enemies. Her journey through motherhood becomes a fascinating point of contention when the group is literally public enemy number one.”