It happens.
Robert De Niro's reaction was no Angela-Bassett-at-the-Oscars or anything, but his ears definitely perked up when he heard his first name announced as the winner of the 2024 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (by Bassett, incidentally, as last year's Globe winner for supporting actress). A second later, however, it was Robert Downey Jr. making his way to the stage, but such are the risks of being an actor named Robert who starred in one of the most acclaimed films of the year.
Downey, incidentally, won for his turn as the nefariously motivated Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer, while De Niro was nominated for his performance as the nefariously motivated William King Hale in Killers of the Flower Moon, both real people portrayed in a three-hour film ripped from a gripping nonfiction bestseller.
De Niro—who won his sole Globe out of 10 nominations in 1981, best actor for Raging Bull, and was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in 2011—was, however, the target of one of host Jo Koy's most risqué zingers in his monologue, the comedian quipping about the two-time Oscar winner, "Your last performance has got to be your greatest performance ever. How'd you get her pregnant at 80?"
The star, while 80 now, was 79 when his seventh child was born, but who's counting? (And cue the mob-beating-related memes that started to file in on the site formerly known as Twitter...)
Downey was accepting his third Golden Globe, though he self-deprecatingly called it his "most improved player" honor rather than admit it was a well-deserved achievement that just may precede his first-ever Oscar win.
"I took a beta blocker, so this is gonna be a breeze," he cracked at the top of his speech, marveling over Oppenheimer's billion-dollar showing at the box office, calling the epic a "goddamn masterpiece."
Noting how he had received rave reviews for his turn as an "unrecognizably subtle Lewis Strauss," Downey added, "to my fellow nominees, let's not pretend this is a compliment."
And for the record, De Niro was smiling along with the rest of the amused crowd. (He and girlfriend Tiffany Chen also laughed heartily at Koy's joke, too, the busy couple obviously in a good mood.)
Keep scrolling to see all of the 2024 Golden Globe winners:
Best Picture Drama
Anatomy of a Fall
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
WINNER: Oppenheimer
Past Lives
The Zone of Interest
Best Picture - Musical/Comedy
Air
American Fiction
Barbie
The Holdovers
May December
WINNER: Poor Things
Best Female Actor - Motion Picture - Drama
Annette Bening, Nyad
Cailee Spaeny, Priscilla
Carey Mulligan, Maestro
Greta Lee, Past Lives
WINNER: Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall
Best Male Actor - Motion Picture - Drama
Andrew Scott, All of Us Strangers
Barry Keoghan, Saltburn
Bradley Cooper, Maestro
WINNER: Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Colman Domingo, Rustin
Leonardo DiCaprio, Killers of the Flower Moon
Best Female Actor - Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy
Alma Pöysti, Fallen Leaves
WINNER: Emma Stone, Poor Things
Fantasia Barrino, The Color Purple
Jennifer Lawrence, No Hard Feelings
Margot Robbie, Barbie
Natalie Portman, May December
Best Male Actor - Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy
Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction
Joaquin Phoenix, Beau Is Afraid
Matt Damon, Air
Nicolas Cage, Dream Scenario
WINNER: Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
Timothée Chalamet, Wonka
Best Supporting Female Actor - Motion Picture
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
WINNER: Da'Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers
Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer
Jodie Foster, Nyad
Julianne Moore, May December
Rosamund, Pike, Saltburn
Best Supporting Male Actor - Motion Picture
Charles Melton, May December
Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things
Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon
WINNER: Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling, Barbie
Willem Dafoe, Poor Things
Best Drama Series
1923
The Crown
The Diplomat
The Last of Us
The Morning Show
WINNER: Succession
Best Comedy/Musical TV Series
Abbott Elementary
Barry
WINNER: The Bear
Jury Duty
Only Murders in the Building
Ted Lasso
Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or Television Motion Picture
All the Light We Cannot See
WINNER: Beef
Daisy Jones & The Six
Fargo
Fellow Travelers
Lessons in Chemistry
Best Television Female Actor - Drama Series
Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us
Emma Stone, The Curse
Helen Mirren, 1923
Imelda Staunton, The Crown
Keri Russell, The Diplomat
WINNER: Sarah Snook, Succession
Best Television Male Actor – Drama Series
Brian Cox, Succession
Dominic West, The Crown
Gary Oldman, Slow Horses
Jeremy Strong, Succession
WINNER: Kieran Culkin, Succession
Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us
Best Television Female Actor - Musical/Comedy Series
WINNER: Ayo Edebiri, The Bear
Elle Fanning, The Great
Natasha Lyonne, Poker Face
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building
Best Television Male Actor - Musical/Comedy Series
Bill Hader, Barry
Jason Segel, Shrinking
Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
WINNER: Jeremy Allen White, The Bear
Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building
Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building
Best Female Actor - Limited Series, Anthology Series or Television Motion Picture
WINNER: Ali Wong, Beef
Brie Larson, Lessons in Chemistry
Elizabeth Olsen, Love & Death
Juno Temple, Fargo
Rachel Weisz, Dead Ringers
Riley Keough, Daisy Jones & The Six
Best Male Actor - Limited Series, Anthology Series or Television Motion Picture
David Oyelowo, Lawmen: Bass Reeves
Jon Hamm, Fargo
Matt Bomer, Fellow Travelers
Sam Claflin, Daisy Jones & The Six
WINNER: Steven Yeun, Beef
Woody Harrelson, White House Plumbers
Best Supporting Female Actor - Television
Abby Elliott, The Bear
Christina Ricci, Yellowjackets
WINNER: Elizabeth Debicki, The Crown
Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso
J. Smith-Cameron, Succession
Meryl Streep, Only Murders in the Building
Best Supporting Male Actor - Television
Alan Ruck, Succession
Alexander Skarsgård, Succession
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear
WINNER: Matthew Macfadyen, Succession
James Marsden, Jury Duty