The Golden Globes’ First-time Nominees Luncheon unfolded beneath a tent in a courtyard of The Maybourne Beverly Hills on Wednesday, marking the final red carpet before the holidays. A brief pause before awards season officially begins, with the Globes on Jan. 11 setting the tone for what follows.
The mood was buoyant but reflective, a mix of disbelief, gratitude, nerves and anticipation. Chase Infiniti arrived carrying all of it with her, turning heads in a blood orange Schiaparelli gown.
“Well, here’s the thing, I found out at 5:30 in the morning in L.A., but my phone did not charge overnight,” she recalled of learning about her nomination for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) for “One Battle After Another,” laughing at the chaos of hunting down a charger before the reality could even land. “I was over the moon.”
As for what she’ll wear to the Globes, working with stylists Wayman and Micah — and recently named a Louis Vuitton ambassador — she kept details close to the vest. “I can’t say anything,” the 25-year-old breakout actress said with a smile. “Just know I am so excited.”
Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson arrived together, fresh off filming “Jumanji 3.” The longtime collaborators were sharing a milestone neither had experienced before: a first Golden Globe nomination, side by side.
For Hart, the recognition for Stand-up Comedy on Television struck at the core of a decades-long career. “Stand-up comedy is my first love. Nothing comes before stand-up comedy,” he said. “For me to get noticed within this space is a big deal.”
Johnson’s moment marked a dramatic turn. Up for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for his portrayal of former wrestler and mixed martial artist Mark Kerr in “The Smashing Machine,” the role was a deliberate step into uncertainty.
“It’s the greatest honor of my career,” Johnson said. “It represents listening to that little voice that we all have that says, ‘Hey, there is more that you should be doing…Challenge yourself and go be uncomfortable.’”
Jalen Thomas Brooks described a year shaped by both challenge and surprise on the hospital drama “The Pitt.” The role demanded a medical boot camp and mastery of unfamiliar jargon.
“With this job, it’s always cool to learn a skill, or to learn about a field which you can tangibly feel as you grow throughout the show,” Brooks said.
With “The Pitt” riding high after Emmy success and now nominated for Best Television Series – Drama, Brooks admitted, “It’s been honestly very strange. It’s something that you never really expect to happen.”
Nearby, Eva Victor embodied a different kind of astonishment as she took in the quiet shock of a small film suddenly taking up space in big rooms.
Nominated for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for “Sorry, Baby,” which she also wrote and directed, Victor remembered waking up to missed calls. “I shouted, ‘oh my god, yay.’ It was amazing. It was totally surprising and very, very dream-come-true stuff.”
The film premiered at Sundance, where it won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, and the Golden Globe nomination has given it new momentum. “I hope it means more people get to see it,” she said.
Rhea Seehorn, in a colorful floral Dolce & Gabbana dress styled by Jessica Paster, brought warmth and candor to the afternoon. With “Pluribus” generating significant buzz, her first Golden Globe nomination — for Actress in a Drama TV Series — felt both thrilling and grounding.
“You make these things and you never know how it’s going to be received. There could even be backlash,” Seehorn reflected, describing the relief that comes with finally letting a project go into the world.
The morning she found out, the moment broke through suddenly. “I was just watching a documentary and drinking wine and went to bed,” she said, having pushed the nomination out of her mind entirely. She woke up to her husband yelling for her to check her phone, which was flooded with messages.
“I was in pajamas, with dirty, sweaty hair, eating cereal and doing a jigsaw puzzle,” she laughed. “Very real, very happy. And I was like, is this happening? This feels very weird.”
Tramell Tillman, nominated for Best Supporting Actor on Television for “Severance,” was still absorbing the scale of what the show had become.
“To be a part of something that’s a cultural phenomenon is breathtaking and very empowering,” said the actor, who’s set to appear in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”
What was he looking forward to most at the Globes? “Just being around all these incredible, talented people. Hopefully we’ll take home some hardware. We’ll see what happens.”
For Wagner Moura, the afternoon carried a different perspective. He was the only one in the room familiar with the feeling of a Golden Globe nod, earned a decade ago for “Narcos.”
This time, the recognition came for “The Secret Agent,” a project that feels deeply personal, set against Brazil’s history of dictatorship.
“This is a film that I chased a lot,” he said, making history this year as the first Brazilian actor to win Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival for the performance. “I really wanted to do this film.”
The moment had a different weight: “I can’t deny that this one has a very special feeling for me.”
