Last night saw the stars of film and television come together for the 72nd Golden Globe Awards on an evening dominated by witty speeches, eye-catching dresses and powerful political tributes.

The big winner on the night saw the epic coming-of-age drama Boyhood clinch the coveted Best Motion Picture (Drama) award ahead of the likes of The Imitation Game, Selma and The Theory of Everything.

The film, which depicts the life of a young boy from his childhood to his late teens, also landed a Best Director accolade for Richard Linklater, while committed cast member Patricia Arquette won Best Supporting Actress for her role as family matriarch Olivia Evans.

A more surprising result came in the Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical) category, as Wes Anderson’s quirky period comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel took the honour ahead of the much-fancied Broadway satire Birdman.

However, the defeated favourite did secure a deserving Best Actor (Comedy/Musical) win for Michael Keaton as washed-up Hollywood star Riggan Thomson, while renowned filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu was one of four collaborators to land Best Screenplay.

An emotional Keaton said: “You have no idea what this means to me. I want to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press for even having a comedy category.”

Elsewhere, British star Eddie Redmayne overcame fellow homegrown stars Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) and David Oyelowo (Selma) to clinch Best Actor (Drama) for his portrayal of renowned scientist Dr. Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.

The biopic drama also picked up a Best Original Score accolade for composer Jóhann Jóhannsson.

On collecting his trophy, Redmayne revealed he cut short his honeymoon to attend the ceremony in Beverly Hills.

“I promised her sunshine – it wasn’t so great today – but thanks for giving us a honeymoon we’ll remember.”

Meanwhile, Julianne Moore bolstered her bid for Oscar success by winning Best Actress (Drama) for her performance as Alzheimer’s sufferer Dr. Alice Howland in the drama Still Alice.

For the second year in a row, Amy Adams won the Best Actress (Comedy/Musical) accolade for her portrayal of painter Margaret Keane in the biopic Big Eyes. The triumph came a year after her previous victory in the category for American Hustle.

As expected, J. K. Simmons eased his way to the Best Supporting Actor gong for his stunning performance as ruthless music teacher Terence Fletcher in the music-based drama Whiplash.

Elsewhere, musicians John Legend and Common secured the Best Original Song award for their ballad ‘Glory’ from the factual drama Selma, while How to Train Your Dragon 2 pulled off an unexpected win in the Best Animated Film category ahead of the much-fancied The LEGO Movie.

Meanwhile, the Russian drama Leviathan prevailed in the Best Foreign Language Film field at the expense of Sweden’s Force Majeure and Poland’s Ida.

Finally, there was recognition for Hollywood star George Clooney as he received the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement award for his film and television work over the past thirty years with notable roles including ER (1994-99), From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), Out of Sight (1998), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), Ocean’s Eleven (2001), Syriana (2005), Michael Clayton (2007), Up in the Air (2009), The Descendents (2011) and Gravity (2013).

During his speech, the Oscar-winning actor and director dedicated his award to his new wife Amal.

As to be expected, a number of films struggled on the night with The Imitation Game finishing winless from five nominations while Foxcatcher, Gone Girl and Into the Woods also went home empty-handed.

The full list of Globe (film) winners are…

BEST MOTION PICTURE (DRAMA)
BOYHOOD

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE (DRAMA)
Julianne Moore, STILL ALICE

BEST ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE (DRAMA)
Eddie Redmayne, THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING

BEST MOTION PICTURE (COMEDY OR MUSICAL)
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE (COMEDY OR MUSICAL)
Amy Adams, BIG EYES

BEST ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE (COMEDY OR MUSICAL)
Michael Keaton, BIRDMAN

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE
Patricia Arquette, BOYHOOD

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE
J. K. Simmons, WHIPLASH

BEST DIRECTOR
Richard Linklater, BOYHOOD

BEST SCREENPLAY
BIRDMAN (Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris & Armando Bo)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (Jóhann Jóhannsson)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
SELMA (“Glory”)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
LEVIATHAN (Russia)

---

Meanwhile, the television awards produced a few unexpected surprises in some of the biggest categories.

In the drama fields, Showtime’s The Affair overcame the likes of Game of Thrones, The Good Wife and House of Cards to land Best Television Series (Drama) while British star Ruth Wilson saw off Claire Danes (Homeland) and Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife) to win Best Actress (Drama) for her role as unfaithful married waitress Alison Lockhart.

Kevin Spacey finally ended his barren run of seven nominations without a win at the Globes as he landed the Best Actor (Drama) gong for his performance as corrupted senator Frank Underwood in House of Cards.

On the funny side of things, Prime Video’s Transparent won two awards, including the Best Television Series (Comedy or Musical) accolade ahead of category favourite Orange is the New Black.

Additionally, veteran star Jeffrey Tambor won the Best Actor (Comedy/Musical) award for his role as transgender woman Maura Pfefferman.

Elsewhere, a stunned Gina Rodriguez overcame Emmy favourite Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep) to land Best Actress (Comedy/Musical) for her turn as Latina virgin Jane Gloriana Villanueva in CW’s Jane the Virgin.

In the miniseries categories, FX’s Fargo saw off HBO’s True Detective to win Best Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, while leading man Billy Bob Thornton edged his way to victory in the Best Actor (Limited Series/TV Movie) prize for his performance as contract killer Lorne Malvo.

His victory came at the expense of co-star Martin Freeman and True Detective duo Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.

Meanwhile, Maggie Gyllenhaal landed Best Actress (Limited Series/TV Movie) for playing Anglo-Jewish businesswoman Nessa Stein in the BBC political drama The Honourable Woman.

Finally, British star Joanne Froggatt was surprisingly awarded Best Supporting Actress for her role as maid Anna Bates in ITV’s Downton Abbey, while Matt Bomer secured Best Supporting Actor for his performance as AIDS victim Felix Turner in the HBO television film The Normal Heart.

Like the film awards, a number of programmes came away from the ceremony empty-handed, including The Good Wife, Olive Kitteridge and Orange is the New Black.

The full list of television winners are…

BEST TELEVISION SERIES (DRAMA)
THE AFFAIR

BEST ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES (DRAMA)
Ruth Wilson, THE AFFAIR

BEST ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES (DRAMA)
Kevin Spacey, HOUSE OF CARDS

BEST TELEVISION SERIES (COMEDY OR MUSICAL)
TRANSPARENT

BEST ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES (COMEDY OR MUSICAL)
Gina Rodriguez, JANE THE VIRGIN

BEST ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES (COMEDY OR MUSICAL)
Jeffrey Tambor, TRANSPARENT

BEST LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
FARGO

BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Maggie Gyllenhaal, THE HONOURABLE WOMAN

BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Billy Bob Thornton, FARGO

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Joanne Froggatt, DOWNTON ABBEY

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Matt Bomer, THE NORMAL HEART