Golden Globes 2013: Hunt, Adams, Hathaway contend for supporting prize

By Deborah Vankin

Dec. 13, 2012 12 AM PT

Hollywood might have been buzzing over Thursday’s Golden Globe nominations, but for many of the nominees in the best supporting actress in a motion picture category, the morning was largely business as usual.

“I’m sitting here at the breakfast table with my daughter right now” said Amy Adams, who was recognized for her role as a pregnant Peggy Dodd opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master.” “Awards, it’s not something I really think about when I’m working, but I’m excited. ‘The Master’ has such a unique voice -- Paul is a visionary.”

Adams, whose 2-year-old cooed in the background during the phone call, has previously been nominated by the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. three times. Earlier this week, she received a Critics’ Choice Award nomination for her work in “The Master.”

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Helen Hunt, nominated for her role as a sex surrogate in writer-director Ben Lewin’s “The Sessions,” was on the go when she got the news of her Golden Globe nom. She, too, kept a cool head, despite the fact that her role in the film has so far earned her noms from both the Screen Actors Guild and the Broadcast Film Critics’ Critics Choice Awards.

“I’m about to head into a yoga class after dropping my daughter off at school -- it’s a regular day,” she said. “But I’ll have lunch with a friend later and raise a glass.”

Hunt and Adams will compete in the category against Anne Hathaway (“Les Miserables”), Sally Field (“Lincoln”) and Nicole Kidman (“The Paperboy”).

Hathaway has kicked up much dust as Fantine in Tom Hooper’s adaptation of “Les Miserables.” In addition to the Golden Globe nomination, the role also earned her nods from SAG, as well as the Critics’ Choice Awards. She has twice before been recognized by the HFPA, receiving best actress nominations for her role in 2010’s “Love and Other Drugs” and 2008’s “Rachel Getting Married.”

Interestingly, Hathaway’s mother once played Fantine in a Broadway production of “Les Miserables.”

“What a great way to wake up! I couldn’t be happier or more grateful for this news,” Hathaway said in a statement. “Congratulations to Hugh [Jackman] and everyone who worked on Les Miz for their contribution to the best picture nomination!!!”

For her role as the first lady in Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” Field also received nods from SAG and the Critics’ Choice Awards. Field has previously received 10 Golden Globe nominations for work in TV and film, with two wins.

“From the very beginning, being a part of “Lincoln” has been a tremendous honor for me and now the recognition we are all receiving is simply thrilling. I am so grateful and in reality, overwhelmed,” Field said in a statement.

Kidman several weeks ago might have been considered a reach to receive a Golden Globe nom for her role in “The Paperboy,” which has received mixed, if not polarizing, reviews. But her sassy, sultry Charlotte Bless in the Lee Daniels’ noir is clearly resonating with voters. “The Paperboy” also earned her a SAG Award nomination this week.

The HFPA recognized Kidman in the category of best actress in a mini-series or TV movie for HBO’s “Hemingway & Gellhorn” as well.

Absent from the list is 77-year-old British actress Maggie Smith, who did receive two Golden Globe noms, just not in the best supporting actress category. She was nominated in the best actress in a motion picture, comedy or musical race for her role in Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut “Quartet;” and season two of writer Julian Fellowes’ TV drama “Downton Abbey” earned her a best supporting actress nomination.

But the two-time Oscar-winner wasn’t called out for her role in the dramedy “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” about British retirees who move to India for their golden years – despite nominations earlier this week from SAG and the Critics’ Choice Awards.

Also overlooked by the HFPA were Jacki Weaver for her role in David O. Russell’s “Silver Linings Playbook” and Ann Dowd who played a middle-aged fast-food restaurant manager in Craig Zobel’s challenging indie drama “Compliance.”

Hunt said she’s been thrilled to see what she considers especially strong performances in this year’s crop of movies.

“I’ve been knocked out…beautiful movies about real people, rather than movies about spiders! I find it really refreshing. I relate more,” she said.

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