Amanda Seyfried raised eyebrows at the 2026 Golden Globes after cameras caught a series of awkward reactions she made during the night’s major acting announcements.
The actress, 40, appeared visibly disappointed when she lost the award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture to Rose Byrne.
In a viral clip from the evening, the Emmy-winning star, who was nominated for The Testament of Ann Lee, was caught grimacing briefly before forcing a smile, clapping and standing to applaud the winner.
Byrne has been a consistent presence in the awards conversation for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You since the film premiered at Sundance last year.
She previously won the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance at the Berlin Film Festival and earned a Critics Choice Award nomination for the role.
Of the six nominees in the category, three had already won Golden Globes prior to Sunday night.
Amanda Seyfried raised eyebrows at the 2026 Golden Globes after cameras caught a series of awkward reactions she made during the night’s major acting announcements
Stone, 37, previously took home trophies for La La Land in 2017 and Poor Things in 2024. Seyfried, 40, won Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Television Film in 2023 for The Dropout, while Hudson, 46, won Supporting Actress for Almost Famous back in 2001.
While some viewers interpreted Seyfried’s reaction as petulant, body language expert Judi James offered a more nuanced take to the Daily Mail, explaining that award-season reactions have evolved – and honesty now often replaces forced cheer.
‘There are two contrasting ways to react to losing out on an award when you know you’re on split-screen,’ James explained. ‘The old-school way, which some of the other nominees are doing in this reaction shot, is to perform overkill body language responses of joy, looking more as though they’ve just won, with screams and open mouthed grins of fake delight.’
She added that in recent years, celebrities have increasingly leaned into humor rather than pretence.
‘Recently there has been a growing tendency to reveal or act out the more honest emotions of losing as a kind of a joke though,’ James said. ‘Celebs will often now show signs of comedy annoyance or anger at losing rather than pretend to be delighted.’
According to James, Seyfried’s now-viral grimace appeared more playful than truly irritable.
‘Amanda’s facial expression here suggests she was joking with the comedy grimace,’ she said. ‘Unlike the others on the split screen she doesn’t prep any smiling “losers” face, instead she looks down before the winner is called suggesting she had no plans to opt for the fake bravado route.’
However, the expert noted that Seyfried’s body language still betrayed how much the moment mattered to her.
The actress, 40, appeared visibly disappointed when she lost the award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture to Rose Byrne
In a viral clip from the evening, the Emmy-winning star, who was nominated for The Testament of Ann Lee, was caught grimacing briefly before forcing a smile, clapping and standing to applaud the winner
‘She does look tense here, showing how important a moment it was for her,’ James continued. ‘She seems to laugh at a joke from the stage, leaning sideways as she does so and the only real “tell” of having found losing hard comes from a hard blink that she does as the winner’s name is called and she starts to clap.’
‘The exaggerated grimace does look like an attempt to be funny and perhaps more honest than losers who whoop and scream as though they’ve won,’ James added. ‘She converts quickly to a smile and a chat, which is her version of the “good losers” face.’
Seyfried’s reactions drew renewed attention later in the ceremony when another category was announced.
Cameras appeared to catch her applauding before the winner was revealed and mouthing what some viewers interpreted as ‘she’s not even here’ when Michelle Williams was announced as the winner.
Social media was quick to react to Seyfried’s candid moments, with opinions sharply divided
‘Amanda Seyfried not paying attention and preemptively clapping because she probably didn’t think she’d win is the best thing I’ve seen all night. I love her,’ one viewer wrote
Williams took home Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television for her role as Molly Kochan in FX’s Dying for Sex.
The Daily Mail reached out to Seyfried’s representatives for comment, but has not heard back, at this time.
Social media was quick to react to Seyfried’s candid moments, with opinions sharply divided.
‘Amanda Seyfried not paying attention and preemptively clapping because she probably didn’t think she’d win is the best thing I’ve seen all night. I love her,’ one viewer wrote.
Others were less forgiving, with posts ranging from ‘Amanda Seyfried has been robbed again’ to the more cutting: ‘my favorite 2x loser Amanda Seyfried.’
Seyfried had also been nominated in that category for Long Bright River, marking a tough night in which she lost twice.
For the high-profile evening, Seyfried stunned in a strapless ivory Versace gown, accessorized with Tiffany & Co. diamonds as she took her seat among Hollywood’s elite.
While some viewers interpreted Seyfried’s reaction as petulant, body language expert Judi James offered a more nuanced take to the Daily Mail
According to James, Seyfried’s now-viral grimace appeared more playful than petulant
Despite the double loss, Seyfried remains one of the industry’s most decorated and bankable stars.
Over her career, she has earned a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award nomination, while her films as a leading actress have grossed more than $2.4 billion worldwide.
Timothee Chalamet has soared over Leonardo DiCaprio – who stars in One Battle After Another – as the betting favorite to win the coveted Best Actor Oscar as he earned the top honor at the Golden Globe Awards 2026 for Marty Supreme (directed by Josh Safdie).
Before Award season it was 51-year-old DiCaprio who was the odds favorite to take home the coveted gong, but now Chalamet is a massive favorite to win the top acting prize at March’s Academy Awards according to regulated exchange and prediction market Kalshi.
However, DiCaprio’s flick One Battle After Another (directed by Paul Thomas Anderson) did earn the last laugh at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, Sunday night as the film not only triumphed over Chalamet’s project but also beat out Blue Moon, Bugonia, No Other Choice, and Nouvelle Vague for Best Picture – Comedy Or Musical.
One Battle After Another was the most awarded film of the night with four but will no doubt face stiff competition in the Oscars race from Hamnet (directed by Chloe Zhao) as it earned the last award of the night in the Best Picture – Drama category over Frankenstein, It Was Just An Accident, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, and Sinners.
On the television side, it was The Pitt (created by R. Scott Gemmill), The Studio (created by Evan Goldberg, Alex Gregory, and Peter Huyck), and Adolescence (created by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne) which earned wins in the drama, comedy or musical, and limited series categories, respectively.
Meanwhile, 30-year-old Chalamet surely had tongues wagging as he barely acknowledged girlfriend Kylie Jenner during his acceptance speech for Marty Supreme.
Timothee Chalamet has soared over Leonardo DiCaprio – who stars in One Battle After Another – as the betting favorite to win the coveted Best Actor Oscar as he earned the top honor at the Golden Globe Awards 2026 for Marty Supreme (directed by Josh Safdie)
Before Award season it was 51-year-old DiCaprio who was the odds favorite to take home the coveted gong, but now Chalamet is a massive favorite to win the top acting prize at March’s Academy Awards according to regulated exchange and prediction market Kalshi
Meanwhile, 30-year-old Chalamet surely had tongues wagging as he barely acknowledged girlfriend Kylie Jenner during his acceptance speech for Marty Supreme
The French-speaking actor had another major awards show moment as he earned Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy and abruptly ended his speech by saying: ‘To my parents and partner, I love you. Thank you so much.’
It was noticeably a much more muted acknowledgement for Jenner, 28, as he boldly declared her love for her at last week’s Critics Choice Awards 2026.
Chalamet beat out an impressive field led by Leonardo DiCaprio for One Battle After Another as the field also featured: George Clooney – Jay Kelly, Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon, Lee Byung-Hun – No Other Choice, Jesse Plemons – Bugonia.
One Battle After Another led all winners with four including the aforementioned Best Picture – Comedy Or Musical gong along with Best Director and Screenplay for Paul Thomas Anderson and a surprise Best Supporting Actress win for Teyana Taylor.
One Battle After Another has already had a very successful Awards Season 2026 run but will face a formidable opponent in Hamnet – starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal – which earned the top prize Best Picture – Drama.
Buckley earned one of the top acting gongs of the night as she earned Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama.
The 36-year-old Irish actress triumphed over an A-list field including: Jennifer Lawrence – Die, My Love, Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value, Julia Roberts – After the Hunt, Tessa Thompson – Hedda, and Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby.
On the television side, it was Netflix’s Adolescence that had the biggest night as it swept their categories including 16-year-old star Owen Cooper becoming one of the youngest Golden Globe Awards winners of all-time.
However, DiCaprio’s flick One Battle After Another (directed by Paul Thomas Anderson) did earn the last laugh at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, Sunday night as the film not only triumphed over Chalamet’s project but also beat out Blue Moon, Bugonia, No Other Choice, and Nouvelle Vague for Best Picture – Comedy Or Musical
One Battle After Another has already had a very successful Awards Season 2026 run but will face a formidable opponent in Hamnet – starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal – which earned the top prize Best Picture – Drama
Jessie Buckley earned one of the top acting gongs of the night as she earned Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama for Hamnet
The teenage actor was recognized in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role — TV Series, Limited series or TV Movie category.
His Adolescence co-star Stephen Graham later earned Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for TV.
It was a massive night for the Netflix series as Erin Doherty also earned Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role — TV Series, Limited series or TV Movie.
Adolescence swept their categories as it finished the night winning Best Limited TV Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for TV over: All Her Fault, The Beast in Me. Black Mirror, Dying for Sex, and The Girlfriend.
Noah Wyle kept up his winning ways after winning at last week’s Critics Choice Awards 2026 as he was earned Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series – Drama for The Pitt (created by R. Scott Gemmill).
Wyle also led the beloved HBO show to the top television honor as The Pitt was honored with Best TV Series – Drama.
Another big winner was The Studio as it earned Best TV Series – Musical or Comedy in addition to a Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series win for Seth Rogen.