In the past, Danes took home two Golden Globes for her role as Carrie Mathison in Homeland, one Golden Globe for Temple Grandin, and her first Golden Globe back in 1995 for My So-Called Life, which totals four trophies.
This year, Danes’ competition was extremely stiff: Robin Wright was nominated (who took home the award last year for her role of Claire Underwood in House of Cards, opposite Kevin Spacey). Julianna Margulies was up for the award, after recently winning the Emmy in that same category for The Good Wife, and Viola Davis was nominated for her role in How to Get Away With Murder.
The award rightfully went to British actress Ruth Wilson for her stellar performance as Alison Lockhart in The Affair. Had Wilson not won, either Viola Davis or Robin Wright would have been worthy recipients as well. Viola Davis was deserving of an Oscar a few years ago for her fantastic work in The Help, and a Golden Globe win here, would have also been a major consolation. The same holds true for Robin Wright who along with Kevin Spacey are superb in House of Cards.
The fact that Homeland was not up for a Golden Globe in the “Best Drama” category, seriously hurt Danes’ chances, giving Wilson and Wright the edge, especially since their dramas received multiple nominations, and their co-stars Spacey (House of Cards) and Dominic West (from The Affair) were both up for “Best Actor in a Television Series.”
On January 25, Danes will be vying for a Screen Actors Guild Award, however, her category is extremely competitive there too, with Viola Davis, Robin Wright, Julianna Margulies being in the running, as well as Maggie Smith, who is arguably one of the greatest actresses in the history of cinema. As they say “there is nothing like a dame,” and at 80 years old, Maggie Smith’s work as the Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey is spectacular. It is no wonder that Queen Elizabeth recently made Smith a Companion of Honour (CH).
