By Randall Yip, Executive Editor
Shogun scored big at the Golden Globes Sunday night with comedienne and actress Ali Wong and director Jon Chu walking away with hardware too.
Shogun won for best TV drama and three of its stars enjoyed the limelight after winning in various acting categories.
Anna Sawai won for best performance by an actress in a TV drama for Shogun.
Born in New Zealand, her family moved to Japan when she was 10. Previous notable roles include Pachinko on Apple TV Plus since 2022. She’s come a long way since playing Annie at age 11 on Japanese Television.
She currently stars as Lady Mariko in Shogun, a trusted supporter of her Lord Toranaga and a dutiful wife to Buntaro.
“Thank you to the voters for voting for me, even though I would vote for Kathy Bates any day, “ Sawai said, acknowledging a fellow nominee.
Best performance by an actor in a TV series drama went to Sawai’s co-star, Hiroyuki Sanada.
He thanked everyone in his life who has helped him get where he is today. To the young performers out there, he simply said “believe in yourself.”
Sanada stars as Yoshii Toranaga, a feared ruler of the Kanto region. He previously played alongside Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 4.
Best performer by an actor in a supporting role went to Tadanobu Asano.
“Wow,” he exclaimed. “You don’t know me. I’m an actor from Japan. My name is Tadanobu Asano,” he said to thunderous applause.
He plays a charismatic but brutal warlord in Shogun. Yabushige is one who wouldn’t hesitate to change his loyalties.
Not surprisingly, Wicked won in the category of box office achievement. Director An enthusiastic Jon Chu offered these inspiring words.
“When we discover the world isn’t exactly the way we thought it was, that maybe we’re a little Elphaba inside of us. That maybe that we have that courage and that strength to not give up, but to rise up and take the road off the yellow brick road and maybe discover we can fly,” he said.
Ali Wong won her second Golden Globe. This time for standup comedy on TV for her Netflix special, Single Lady.
She gave a shoutout to the Punch Line comedy club in San Francisco where she honed her comedy skills.
This is her second Golden Globe. The first was for her starring role in Beef on Netflix.
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