15 Lesser-Known Facts About 2026 Golden Globe Nominees
Yes, the Golden Globes ceremony is a big night for the nominees, but it’s actually a much bigger night for movie and TV fact enthusiasts. See, they love nothing more than to drop fun facts at parties all year long, so you can only imagine their excitement at parties on nights that honor the movies and shows! We have such second-hand excitement for them that we wanted to help stock their fact-arsenault with goods about the nominees.
There were some seriously golden movies and shows this year, so we have some full blown first-hand excitement too. Pluribis and One Battle After Another are a couple nominees we’re particularly excited about. So consider this a one-stop shop for the most current movie and TV facts and have fun tucking them into your brain pockets until that viewing party on January 11, 2026.
A cute family connection in ‘One Battle After Another’
Shutterstock
As some of you know, Maya Rudolph and this film’s director, Paul Thomas Anderson, are married. The character “Gramma Minnie,” played by Starletta DuPois is a direct nod to Maya Rudolph’s mother, singer Minnie Riperton, who died at 31 after a three-year battle with breast cancer. She never reached grandmotherhood, but through this film, she does. Great, now we’re crying.
Ethan Hawke hopes to never have to transform his body again
Sony Pictures Classics
To play Lorenz Hart in the film Blue Moon, Ethan Hawke had to shave his head, wear a combover, and adjust his posture to appear nearly a foot shorter. When it comes to molding his body for a role, he said, “Hopefully never again!”
'No Other Choice' took forever to make
Wikipedia
Veteran Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook conceived the idea for the film decades ago, and even had an American version considered 15 years ago, but funding issues delayed its realization for 20 years.
Guillermo Del Toro new who he wanted
Netflix
Oscar Isaac was the first choice for Dr. Frankenstein, before a screenplay even existed. When there was one, Guillermo Del Toro had him read 30 pages from the script in a hotel room, and Isaac became emotionally invested.
‘The Secret Agent’ and ‘Jaws’ are connected (sort of)
Vitrine Filmes (Brazil)
A shark scene in the movie is a direct nod to Jaws, which was coincidentally re-released for its 50th anniversary in Brazilian theaters. It ended up being played while The Secret Agent was playing, and in many cinemas, trailers for Jaws were shown right before screenings of The Secret Agent.
Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan consulted real twins
Warner Bros.
To help Michael B. Jordan prepare for playing twins, director Ryan Coogler brought his longtime friends Logan and Noah Miller (who are twins) on as consultants for the film. He asked them why they always sat next to each other, and they said that people get freaked out seeing them apart in the same room. Coogler incorporated this little tidbit into the film.
Dwayne Johnson took real punches to the face
A24
The Rock earned his nom for “Best Male Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama” by keeping The Smashing Machine authentic. Director Benny Safdie remembered, “Dwayne said to the fighter, ‘Yoko, you’ve got to hit me.’ Yoko was, like, ‘I’m sorry, sir. I’m not going to do that.’ Dwayne said, ‘You have to. You know to not break my jaw or kill me. Give it to me!'”
They filmed both ‘Wicked’ movies simultaneously
Universal Pictures
Cynthia Erivo explained, “We made them at the same time, not one after the other, at the same time, simultaneously. So, one day we could be filming film one and the second day we’re filming For Good, which is sort of completely mind-boggling.”
Jennifer Lawrence was pregnant during production
Mubi
In Die My Love, Jennifer Lawrence filmed while she was pregnant with her second child (which really informed her raw portrayal of postpartum psychosis). For nude scenes, she refused touch-ups for cellulite, wanting to show "an ass" as it is.
75 year-old Amy Madigan did her own stunts in ‘Weapons’
Warner Bros.
She said, “I did all that running and all that ridiculous stuff. I think everybody was holding their breath a little bit going, ‘Oh, I hope she doesn't slip and crash into something,’ which I didn't. I'm proud of that.”
The Safdie brothers went solo this year
A24
Nominated for “Best Screenplay” for the Marty Supreme script, the film marks Josh Safdie's first solo directorial project without his brother Benny since 2008. Benny Safdie directed The Smashing Machine this year.
’Zootopia 2’ by the numbers
Disney
Nominated for “Best Animated Motion Picture,” Zootopia 2 has quite the stats. There are more than 50,000 characters in the desert festival scene. In total, the movie features 178 unique characters representing 67 different species. Artists crafted nearly 570,000 hairs on Nibbles Maplestick and more than 9.6 million hairs covering each giraffe. And while a typical Disney Animation film has an average of 1,600 shots, Zootopia 2 totals more than 2,000.
A cute nod to a classic
Hulu, Disney+
Only Murders In The Building is nominated for “Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy.” In Season 3, Charles and Oliver lie their way into a courtroom, saying they're "fathers of the bride." This is a clear nod to Steve and Martin’s roles in the 1991 film Father of the Bride.
Britt Lower used her art skills to prepare for ‘Severance’
Shutterstock
Britt Lower delved deep into music and the arts during the pandemic lockdown to prepare. She told Flaunt Magazine, “I listened to a ton of music and made these abstract drawings and paintings to tap into the rebellious part of ,” she “I have a whole sketch book filled with super intense scribbly very saturated Helly-inspired art!”
Noah Wyle is an avid human and animal rights advocate
HBO MAX
Wyle is nominated for “Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series” for his role on The Pitt. Outside of acting, he has actively supported organizations like ‘Doctors of the World’, ‘Human Rights Watch’ and ‘Cover the Uninsured’. Wyle is also a vocal supporter of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and ADAPT — a disability rights group.
