2025 Golden Globes Nominees: Drama Actors Most Prestigious Roles
The 2025 Golden Globes nominations are out, and we’re gearing up to see which of Hollywood’s nominated Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama will take home the gold. This year’s nominees deserve recognition because of their dedication to their craft. Before you watch the movies where they earned this year’s nomination, it’s fun to look back at the roles that have earned them their acting cred over the years.
Here’s a casual stroll through the most prestigious, career-defining roles that made this year’s Golden Globes nominees favorites among the Hollywood Foreign Press Association members.
Adrien Brody for The Brutalist
Adrien Brody is no stranger to winning acting awards. He was nominated for a Golden Globes of the same category in 2003 for the film The Pianist. He lost to Jack Nicholson but won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the same film. After his Oscars win, he continued to star in various movies, such as The Village, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Asteroid City. He also portrayed Salvador Dali in Woody Allen’s 2011 movie Midnight in Paris.
Timothée Chalamet for A Complete Unknown
Beginning his career as a teenager in television, Timothée Chalamet appeared in the Claire Danes-led espionage thriller TV series, Homeland. He also appeared in the science fiction film Interstellar, and the coming-of-age movie Call Me by Your Name which earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination. He’s also the main lead of the sci-fi film Dune and Dune: Part Two based on the novel by Frank Herbert. Chalamet also starred as Willy Wonka in the 2023 musical Wonka.
Daniel Craig for Queer
Aside from being the fictional secret agent James Bond for five movies: Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, Spectre, and No Time to Die, Daniel Craig also starred in the fantasy film The Golden Compass and the sci-fi film Cowboys & Aliens. He’s also memorable in the thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and film series, Knives Out. Craig is also a stage actor and had his Broadway debut in 2009 via the play A Steady Rain.
Colman Domingo for Sing Sing
Colman Domingo is perhaps well-known for his role as Victor Strand in the TV series Fear the Walking Dead and as drug addict Ali in Euphoria. Besides these TV series, Domingo also appeared in movies Selma, Lincoln, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Color Purple and in the biopic film Rustin where he played activist Bayard Rustin. He was also nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for the 2011 Broadway musical The Scottsboro Boys.
Ralph Fiennes for Conclave
Ralph Fiennes, aka Lord Voldemort from the Harry Potter films, is an English actor who has appeared in several notable movies, including The Constant Gardener, The Hurt Locker, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and A Bigger Splash. He has also lent his voice to the animated movies The Prince of Egypt, Kubo and The Two Strings, and The Lego Batman Movie. He made his directorial debut in 2011 with the film Coriolanus, in which he played the lead role.
Sebastian Stan for The Apprentice
Before becoming the Winter Soldier in the MCU, Sebastian Stan appeared in the dark fantasy horror film The Covenant, the drama The Education of Charlie Banks, and the psychological horror film Black Swan. Post-MCU, Stan’s filmography includes The Bronze, I, Tonya, The Devil All the Time, and A Different Man, in which he’s also an executive producer.
From dramatic biopics to mystery thrillers, this year’s Golden Globes nominees have already given us some seriously memorable performances over the years. These roles helped shape their careers, and now they’re back, looking to add other accolades to their already impressive acting resumés.
