Golden Globes: Christian Bale passes his Oscar audition, and Katey Sagal finally breaks through

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Christian Bale, let’s face it, can be a bit odd and disconnected in real-life social situations. Many award watchers wondered how he might do on the Golden Globes podium tonight if he won. That one minute in the Globe spotlight is really your big Oscar audition, after all. Giving heartfelt performances there is what got Hilary Swank and Jamie Foxx their Oscars for ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ and ‘Ray,’ in my opinion.

But Bale was terrific, after all. He started off rather shaky by calling members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. ‘oddball,’ but then he sailed through the rest of the speech with charm and a winning smile, ending up wonderfully with a shout-out to his daughter watching at home.

Bale’s victory was widely expected. The first big jawdropper of the night was the victory by Katey Sagal (‘Sons of Anarchy’). ‘Oh, my God, I’m so shocked!’ she started off saying, then peppered her acceptance speech with throwaway gasps of ‘Oh, my God, this is wild!’ and ‘This is awesome!’

No pundits predicted Sagal would win, but it’s going to be a popular result with TV critics who believe she’s giving one of the best performances on TV today. Sagal got snubbed at the recent Emmys, though. She wasn’t even nominated. In fact, she’s never been nominated there. As Sagal noted in her Globe speech Sunday, however, she’s been treated well by HFPA, but only with four past nominations for ‘Married … With Children.’ This is her first win … of any major showbiz award. The upset bodes well for an Emmy nomination – and maybe a win – later this year.

— Tom O’Neil