Logo

Golden Globes Preview: Best Supporting Actress, Actor

Jan 10, 2005  •  Post A Comment

By Adam Sandler

Special to TelevisionWeek

In the 2005 Golden Globes supporting actress category, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has recognized both longstanding favorites and first-time nominees.

Eight-time nominee Anjelica Huston is widely considered a frontrunner in the category for her role as suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt in the HBO film “Iron Jawed Angels,” while newcomer Nicolette Sheridan is part of the “Desperate Housewives” ensemble, a show that has helped revive the once-moribund ABC.

Rounding out the list are “The Life and Death of Peter Sellers” co-stars Charlize Theron and Emily Watson, who both play wives of the late comedian in the HBO film; and “The Sopranos” mob mistress Drea de Matteo, whose character was killed near the close of the fifth season of the HBO series.

“Desperate Housewives”‘ saucy seductress Ms. Sheridan nabbed the series’ lone supporting actress nod, joining lead actress nominations for Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman and Teri Hatcher.

“I never really thought I’d be nominated,” said Ms. Sheridan, who returned to prime-time television by joining the women of Wisteria Lane as on-the-prowl divorcee Edie Britt.

The nod marks Ms. Sheridan’s first such nomination, an accolade that eluded her during her seven seasons playing Paige Matheson two decades ago on “Knots Landing.”

Ms. Sheridan, who initially auditioned for Bree Van De Kamp, the role played by Ms. Cross, credits the show’s creator and executive producer Marc Cherry for “assembling a very talented ensemble, which has translated into a critical and commercial success.”

Her vampy, larger-than-life character stands in stark contrast to Anjelica Huston’s no-nonsense portrayal of conservative suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt in HBO’s “Iron Jawed Angels.” Though the historical biopic was not as widely viewed as “Housewives,” Ms. Huston remains a perennial favorite of the foreign press.

Ms. Theron, who took home a actress Globe Award and an Academy Award for her work in the film “Monster,” returns to the nominee lineup through her portrayal of Britt Ekland, one of the title character’s wives in the HBO telefilm, “The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.”

The film adaptation of Roger Lewis’ book about the late comic actor boasts two nominees in the same listing: Emily Watson, who played Anne Sellers, his first wife, is also nominated as a supporting actress.

“I love Peter Sellers. I am a huge fan and I thought the script was very interesting, telling his story in a very unconventional way,” Ms. Theron said. The film shows how drugs, domestic abuse, womanizing and mysticism all contributed to Mr. Sellers’ tortured genius.

The nomination of Ms. de Matteo, who played the often teary Adriana character on “The Sopranos,” was expected, considering the character was a fan favorite who was dramatically murdered in the next-to-last episode of the fifth season of the HBO series.

“I loved being on [“The Sopranos”], but I was tired of crying every single week from the beatings, the chokings and the hair-pulling that Adriana would get,” Ms. de Matteo said. She has since segued from her role as a victim of violence to that of the sister of the title character on NBC’s Matt LeBlanc series “Joey.”