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TV Globes take a stand for the underdogs

Beverly Hills - The Golden Globes took a stand for underdogs in its television awards on Sunday by honouring streaming services with two major acting awards and for making the best comedy, as well as rookie actress Gina Rodriguez of the CW's Jane the Virgin.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association honoured pay and basic cable networks, online companies, public broadcasting — every possible service, it seems, except the dominant broadcast networks ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.

Amazon's Transparent won best comedy and Jeffrey Tambor, who plays a transgender man who hasn't told his adult children about his journey, earned the Globe for best comic actor. Visibly moved, Tambor thanked the Globes for putting the series on the map and dedicated his award to the transgender community.

"Thank you for your courage, thank you for your inspiration, thank you for your patience and thank you for letting us be part of the change," Tambor said.

The series creator, Jill Soloway, expressed hope that the award will "teach the world something about authenticity and truth and love".


Jeffrey Tambor. (Photo: AP)

It was a red-letter day for Rodriguez, who plays the title role in Jane the Virgin, about a girl artificially inseminated by mistake. Not only did she beat much-honoured stars like Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Lena Dunham as best comedy actress, the CW network announced earlier on Sunday that the series had been picked up for its second season.

Rodriguez is the second Latina actress to win the award in this category, after America Ferrara of Ugly Betty in 2007.

"This award is so much more than myself," said Rodriguez, who thanked her parents for allowing her to follow her dreams. "It represents a culture that wants to see themselves as heroes."

The Showtime series The Affair, also in its first year, was honoured as best television drama. Ruth Wilson, who plays the waitress who becomes involved with a married writer, was named best actress in a drama.

"If I have learned anything from writing about an affair, it is how sacred and valuable and essential marriages are," said Sarah Treem, creator of the series.


Ruth Wilson. (Photo: AP)

Actor Kevin Spacey, after eight nominations, took home a Globe as best actor in a drama for his role as politico Francis Underwood in Netflix's House of Cards. He briefly dipped into character as he grabbed his trophy. "This is just the beginning of my revenge!" he said.

Actor Matt Bomer won a Globe as best supporting actor in a TV movie for playing a New York Times reporter with the Aids virus in HBO's The Normal Heart. He thanked his husband and three children from the stage.

FX's movie adaptation of Fargo won the Globe for best television movie or miniseries, beating out three high-profile HBO series in the category. Billy Bob Thornton, who plays Lorne Malvo in the series set in rural Minnesota, won for best actor in a miniseries or movie and kept his acceptance speech safe and short.


Kevin Spacey. (Photo: AP)

"You can say anything in the world and get in trouble," Thornton said. "I know this for a fact. So I'm just going to say thank you."

Joanna Froggatt won best supporting actress for her role of Anna Bates in PBS' Downton Abbey. Her character was raped in the show last season, and Froggatt said in accepting her award that she had heard from several real-world victims of rapes in the aftermath of the episodes. She said she hoped the award would let them know that their voices had been heard.

Maggie Gyllenhaal won as best actress in a miniseries for playing businesswoman Nessa Stein in The Honorable Woman, a political thriller that was shown on Sundance TV. She said Hollywood is providing a greater variety of roles for women.

"What I think is new is the role for actual women in television and film," Gyllenhaal said. "That's what I think is evolutionary and revolutionary and it's turning me on."


Maggie Gyllenhaal. (Photo: AP)

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