Brad Pitt Wins First Acting Golden Globe In Over Two Decades

Once upon a time in Hollywood, Brad Pitt won a much-deserved Golden Globe.

Twenty-four years after picking up the Best Actor in a Supporting Role award for “12 Monkeys,” the actor took home the same prize on Sunday night for his role in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”

Pitt was almost a certain bet heading into the ceremony, as critics lavished praise on his performance as an over-the-hill stuntman who happens to involve himself in the infamous Manson family murders in the 1960s.

His strongest competition came Tom Hanks, who received a lifetime achievement award earlier in the evening. Pitt also beat out dual performances from Al Pacino and Joe Pesci in Martin Scorsese’s gangster epic “The Irishman,” as well as Anthony Hopkins of Netflix’s “Two Popes.”

“When I was starting out, these names that were just listed … were like gods to me,” Pitt said onstage after listing his fellow nominees. “This is an honor. All my respect, sincerely.”

He went on to shout out “partner in crime” Leonardo DiCaprio, whom he dubbed “LDC,” joking that he “would’ve shared the raft” ― presumably a nod to DiCaprio’s role in “Titanic.”

Pitt ended the speech with a call to everyone watching to pay it forward. “If you see a chance to be kind to someone tomorrow, take it,” he said. “I think we need it.”

“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” also received a nod for Best Film in the Musical/Comedy category, as well as nominations for Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Actor for DiCaprio. 

Pitt has been nominated at the Globes eight times previously, winning in 1996 for “12 Monkeys,” and as part of the producing team for “12 Years a Slave,” which took home the award for Best Picture Drama in 2014.

Despite a banner acting year with “Hollywood” and James Gray’s ”Ad Astra,” the Pitt said that, in the future, he’s planning to act even less often than he already does.

“It’ll be fewer and farther in between for me, just because I have other things I want to do now,” Pitt told The New York Times in September, noting that acting is a “younger man’s game.”

He added: “When you feel like you’ve finally got your arms around something, then it’s time to go get your arms around something else.”

Pitt has become increasingly devoted to his production company, Plan B, in recent years. The company has helped produce three Best Picture Oscar winners: “12 Years a Slave,” “Moonlight” and “The Departed.” It’s also behind more recent films like “Beautiful Boy” and “The Last Black Man in San Francisco.”

He has never won an Oscar for acting, though he has been nominated multiple times.