Golden Globes 2025 nominations: ‘Anora,’ ‘A Real Pain,’ ‘A Complete Unknown’ among N.J. nods

The pool of Jersey talent at the 2025 Golden Globes is impressively deep, with many Garden State-connected nominations across film and TV.

Here’s a rundown of actors, movies, TV shows and more nominees with New Jersey ties at the Globes, the first big awards show of the season.

The 82nd Golden Globes are set for Sunday, Jan. 5 (8 p.m. ET) with host Nikki Glaser on CBS, and will be streaming on Paramount+.

‘Anora’ and Sean Baker

New Jersey’s own Sean Baker has made many a standout indie film, but this year, the director hit it big with “Anora,” winning the Palme d’Or, the top award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Baker, a Summit native who grew up in Short Hills and Branchburg, is the subject of Oscar talk for his direction and screenplay, and that’s looking even more likely/certain now with Golden Globes nominations for best director and best screenplay.

“Anora” is a big winner in the nominations overall, with nominations for best motion picture - musical or comedy; best female actor in a motion picture - musical or comedy for star Mikey Madison, who delivers a career-making performance as Anora; and best supporting male actor in a movie for Russian actor Yura Borisov, who plays Igor.

See our interview with Sean Baker for more on “Anora.”

‘A Real Pain’ and Jesse Eisenberg

Oscar-nominated Jersey actor, writer and director Jesse Eisenberg has earned high praise for “A Real Pain,” just his second film as a director.

Eisenberg, who grew up in East Brunswick, earned his first Oscar nomination when he was 27 for playing Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Network.” He stars alongside Kieran Culkin in “A Real Pain,” a movie set in his family’s native Poland.

The film is nominated alongside Baker’s “Anora” for best motion picture - musical or comedy at the Globes. Eisenberg, who plays David Kaplan in the film, is nominated for best male actor in a motion picture - musical or comedy, and Culkin, who looks to be an Oscar nominations frontrunner, is nominated for the Globe for supporting male actor in a movie for playing David’s cousin Benji Kaplan. Eisenberg, like Baker, is also in the running for best screenplay.

See our interview with Jesse Eisenberg for more on “A Real Pain” and his family connection to Poland.

‘A Complete Unknown’

Timothée Chalamet stars as a young Bob Dylan in director James Mangold’s 1960s-set “A Complete Unknown.”

While Chalamet is not from New Jersey, the movie is.

The actor and director, both Oscar nominees, filmed the story of Dylan’s swift rise as a young talent in locations throughout Jersey this year.

Local cities like Hoboken, Jersey City, Newark, Paterson, Elizabeth and Plainfield subbed in for ’60s Manhattan as Cape May played Newport, Rhode Island. Other scenes were filmed in Kearny, Belleville, Mountainside, Blairstown, Red Bank and more.

While Chalamet does sing in the film — so does Monica Barbaro, who plays Joan Baez, and Edward Norton, who plays Pete Seeger — “A Complete Unknown,” also starring Emmy nominee Elle Fanning, is nominated for the Golden Globe for best motion picture - drama.

Chalamet is nominated for best male actor in a motion picture - drama and Norton is nominated for best supporting male actor in a movie.

‘Emilia Pérez’ and Zoe Saldaña

Actor Zoe Saldaña grew up between Queens and the Dominican Republic. Her Jersey connection? She was born here, in Passaic.

Known for her work in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Avatar” films as well as the TV series “Lioness,” Saldaña is nominated for the Golden Globe for best supporting female actor in a movie for her performance as Rita Mora Castro in “Emilia Pérez.”

The musical Netflix film earned 10 Globes nominations, a record for the awards ceremony — no other musical or comedy film has ever received more.

Saldaña’s co-star Selena Gomez is nominated in the same category. The film is nominated for the Globes for best motion picture - musical or comedy as well as best non-English language movie; Karla Sofía Gascón is nominated for best female actor - motion picture musical or comedy; Jacques Audiard is up for best director and best screenplay. The film is also nominated for best score and best original song.

Sebastian Stan, ‘The Apprentice’ and ‘A Different Man’

Another big nominee at the Globes is actor Sebastian Stan, who is nominated for two movies.

Stan, who studied acting at Rutgers’ Mason Gross School of the Arts, plays a young Donald Trump in director Ali Abbasi’s “The Apprentice.” He also plays Edward in Aaron Schimberg’s “A Different Man.”

The actor is nominated for best male actor in a motion picture - drama for “The Apprentice” (”Succession” star Jeremy Strong is also nominated for supporting male actor in a movie for playing Trump mentor Roy Cohn).

His performance in “A Different Man” has him nominated for best male actor in a motion picture - musical or comedy.

See our interview with Sebastian Stan for more on “A Different Man” as well as his role in “The Apprentice.”

‘The Room Next Door’

Another Globes-nominated movie that filmed in Jersey is “The Room Next Door,” the first English-language film from Oscar-winning Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar.

The largely New York-set movie (the city and the Catskills) filmed scenes in Westfield and Montclair.

Oscar winner Tilda Swinton, who plays Martha in the film opposite Julianne Moore as Ingrid, is nominated for best female actor in a motion picture - drama.

‘Lee’

Jersey’s Ellen Kuras, a highly accomplished cinematographer who grew up in Cedar Grove, helmed the story of trailblazing World War II photographer Lee Miller.

“Lee,” her feature directorial debut, stars Oscar winner Kate Winslet, who was also a producer of the film.

Winslet, like Swinton, is nominated for the Golden Globe for best female actor in a motion picture - drama.

See our interview with Ellen Kuras for more on “Lee.”

‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’

The much-anticipated sequel to the beloved Tim Burton movie “Beetlejuice” (1988) brought back Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton and Catherine O’Hara.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which also stars Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux and Monica Bellucci, features a brief but consequential appearance from Asbury Park’s own Danny DeVito.

The movie, which has grossed $451 million worldwide, is nominated for the Golden Globe for cinematic and box office achievement.

See our review of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”

Ramy Youssef

To start off the Jersey TV nominees, Ramy Youssef is nominated for best performance in stand-up comedy at the Globes.

Youssef, who grew up in Rutherford, receives the nod for his second HBO special, “Ramy Youssef: More Feelings,” which he filmed at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City.

The comedian, who co-created the Jersey-set Hulu series “Ramy,” won his first Golden Globe in 2020 for best male actor in a comedy series for starring as Ramy Hassan in the show. Last year, he made his film debut alongside Oscar winner Emma Stone in “Poor Things,” the Golden Globes best picture winner directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.

See our recap of “Ramy Youssef: More Feelings” and our 2023 interview with Ramy Youssef.

Cristin Milioti and ‘The Penguin’

The Jersey star of “The Penguin,” Cristin Milioti, is up for best female actor in a limited series, anthology or TV movie.

Milioti, who grew up in Cherry Hill, stars in the HBO series as Sofia Falcone, daughter of the late Gotham mob boss Carmine Falcone.

She leads the DC drama, which picks up where the 2022 movie “The Batman” left off, with Colin Farrell, who reprises the role of Oswald Cobb from the film. Farrell is nominated for best male actor in a limited series, anthology or TV movie, and “The Penguin” is nominated for best limited series.

See our interview with Cristin Milioti, star of “The Penguin,” and series creator Lauren LeFranc.

‘House of the Dragon’

Bayonne’s George R.R. Martin gave us the books that gave us “Game of Thrones,” which became an absolute giant of fantasy TV.

“House of the Dragon,” which premiered on HBO in 2022, is the first spinoff of the show, a prequel set hundreds of years before the events in “GOT.”

The series, co-created by Martin and Hasbrouck Heights’ Ryan Condal, is based on Martin’s book “Fire & Blood” (2018), a history of House Targaryen.

Emma D’Arcy, who stars at Rhaenyra Targaryen, is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. They are nominated for best female actor in a TV drama.

See our interview with George R.R. Martin and Ryan Condal about “House of the Dragon.”

‘The Bear’

The hit FX/Hulu series “The Bear” may be set in Chicago, but there’s some Jersey behind the scenes.

Joanna Calo, a co-showrunner, producer, writer and director on the show, hails from Maplewood.

“The Bear” is up for best TV series - musical or comedy at the Globes, along with several acting categories, making it the most nominated series at the awards show.

Jeremy Allen White (currently in New Jersey filming Springsteen biopic “Deliver Me From Nowhere”) is nominated for best male actor in a comedy series; Ayo Edebiri is nominated for best female actor in a comedy series; Liza Colón-Zayas is nominated for best supporting female actor in a TV series; and Ebon Moss-Bachrach is nominated for supporting male actor in a TV series.

In 2024, the show won the Globe for best comedy series, and White and Edebiri won acting awards.

See our interview with Joanna Calo of “The Bear.”

‘Hacks’

The Max series “Hacks” is also nominated for best comedy series.

New Jersey’s Paul W. Downs, who grew up Sussex, created the show with his wife, Lucia Aniello, and Jen Statsky. Downs plays Jimmy LuSaque in the series, manager of sharp veteran comedian Deborah Vance and young comedy writer Ava Daniels, whose relationship and careers have both significantly evolved since they met in Las Vegas in the first season of the show.

Jean Smart, who plays Deborah, is nominated for best female actor in a comedy series and Hannah Einbinder, who plays Ava, is up for supporting female actor in a TV series. “Hacks” won two Globes in 2022, one for best comedy series and one for Smart’s performance as best actor.

To see the complete list of 2025 Golden Globes nominations, visit goldenglobes.com.

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Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup.