Hoffman, Huffman, Merkerson, and Parker Earn Top Honors at Golden Globes

Theater favorites Philip Seymour Hoffman, Felicity Huffman, S. Epatha Merkerson, and Mary-Louise Parker were among those who took top honors at the 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony in Beverly Hills on January 16.

Hoffman won the award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama) for his performance as Truman Capote in Capote. Huffman was named Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama) for her role of a transsexual in TransAmerica. Both actors are very likely to be nominees for this year’s Academy Awards.

Huffman was also nominated for Best Actress in a TV Comedy for her role in Desperate Housewives, along with her three co-stars; but she lost that trophy to Tony Award winner Parker, who took the Globe for her work as a suburban widow turned drug dealer in Showtime’s Weeds. Merkerson was named Best Actress in a TV Movie or Miniseries for Lackawanna Blues, the HBO film version of Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s autobiographical play; she had previously won the Emmy Award for her performance.

In addition, Sandra Oh, who will star in Diana Son’s Satellites at The Public Theater this spring, was named Best Supporting Actress (Television) for her role in Grey’s Anatomy, while British actress Rachel Weisz, who starred Off-Broadway in Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things, won the Best Supporting Actress (Motion Picture) award for The Constant Gardener. Paul Newman, who began his career in the theater and starred in the most recent Broadway revival of Our Town, was named Best Supporting Actor (Television) for his performance in the HBO miniseries Empire Falls.