Daniel Kaluuya won the first award of the 2021 Golden Globes, earning best-supporting actor for his performance as Black Panther leader Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah.
Despite having an audio issue (it seemed like he may have been on mute), which nearly stopped him from being able to make his acceptance speech, the British actor delivered a moving message that included a shout-out to the late rapper, Nipsey Hussle.
"This [role] took it out of me," Daniel admitted. "Like the great Nipsey Hussle says, 'we're here to give ill we're empty.'" And I gave everything. And I couldn’t give it to a more noble man, that’s chairman Fred Hampton."
He added, "I hope generations after this can see how brilliantly he thought, how brilliantly he spoke and how brilliantly he loved. [Fred] taught me about myself and he made me grow as a man and I appreciate him with all my heart. [...] There's a lot of information about how [Fred] died but I hope people will grow and learn about how incredibly he lived."
Daniel is the fifth Black performer to win a Golden Globe for supporting actor. The previous Black winners include Louis Gossett Jr. in 1982’s An Officer and a Gentleman, Denzel Washington in 1989’s Glory, Eddie Murphy in 2006’s Dreamgirls, and Mahershala Ali in 2018’s Green Book.
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