House's Laurie, Commander in Chief Davis Take Top TV Honors at Golden Globes

Geena Davis, who portrays U.S. President Mackenzie Allen on Commander in Chief, is the 63rd Annual Golden Globe's Best Actress in a television drama series.

Beverly Hills, CA – ABC dominated the 63rd Annual Golden Globes television categories with four awards, including a win for runaway hit Lost for best drama series and a victory for Desperate Housewives among musical or comedy series.

The victory was the second consecutive for Housewives, which won in the same category last year. The award was the first for Lost, which was nominated last year.

Among television dramas, Best Actor went to Hugh Laurie as the brilliant but misanthropic doctor in Fox’s House, while Best Actress went to Geena Davis as the first woman President of the United States in ABC’s Commander in Chief.

Best Actor in a television musical or comedy went to Steve Carell as the cringingly inept boss in NBC’s The Office, while Best Actress in a television musical or comedy was given to Mary-Louise Parker for her performance as a suburban mom who resorts to pot-dealing to make ends meet in Showtime’s Weeds.

Parker overcame four of ABC’s Desperate Housewives—Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman and Eva Longoria—to win her award. The victory marked Parker’s second Golden Globe. Two years ago she was named Best Supporting Actress in a series, miniseries or television movie for her performance in the HBO miniseries Angels in America.

Irishman Jonathan Rhys-Meyers was named Best Actor in a miniseries or TV movie for his hip-gyrating turn a music icon Elvis Presley in the CBS miniseries Elvis, and Best Actress in a miniseries or a TV movie went to S. Epatha Merkerson for her performance as the proprietor of a raucous 1960s boarding house in the HBO movie Lackawanna Blues—for which she also won an Emmy last September.

Recognized for their supporting work were Hollywood legend Paul Newman, who was singled out for his performance as the eccentric patriarch of a small-town family in the HBO movie Empire Falls, and Sandra Oh, who won for her role as a workaholic surgical resident in the ABC medical drama Grey’s Anatomy.

Several of the TV honorees delivered warmly amusing acceptance speeches, most notably Geena Davis, who related a poignant anecdote about an encounter with a young girl who was inspired to dream of becoming President of the United States by Davis’ character—only to reveal after the fact that the anecdote was fictitious.

Hugh Laurie, who said he had too many people to thank, and therefore opted to acknowledge three individuals whose names he drew at random from slips of paper in his trouser pockets; and Steve Carell, who read from a speech he claimed had been written by his wife—a missive in which she was thanked several times for her unflagging love and sacrifice in support of his career.

On the feature film side, the ceremony further elevated anticipation levels for this year’s forthcoming Oscar® Awards, with the gay-themed Western romance Brokeback Mountain winning four Globes and three going to the acclaimed Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line.

Recognized for their leading roles were Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was honored with Best Actor in a motion picture drama for the title role of author Truman Capote in Capote, and Felicity Huffman, who was named for Best Actress in a motion picture drama for her work as a pre-op transsexual in Transamerica.

In the musical or comedy category, both lead performances went to the stars of the heralded Walk the Line. Best Actor went to Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash, and Best Performance Actress was bestowed on Reese Witherspoon, who starred as Cash’s wife, June Carter Cash.

Best Supporting Actor motion picture went to George Clooney for his performance as a jaded intelligence agent in Syriana. Best Supporting Actress in a motion picture was given to Rachel Weisz, who portrayed an ill-fated Western wife living in Africa in The Constant Gardener

Garnering the Best Director prize for the second time in his career was Brokeback Mountain’s Ang Lee, who previously won the award in 2001 for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Brokeback also won for Best Screenplay, which went to co-writers Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana.

Brokeback Mountain also took top honors for Best Original Song, which went to composer Gustavo Santaolall and lyricist Bernie Taupin for “A Love That Will Never Grow Old.” Best Original Score went to veteran composer John Williams, who won the award three times previously, and has been nominated more than 20 times.

In one of the evening’s few surprises, the prize for Best Foreign Language Film went to Paradise Now, from Palestine, a gripping drama about two childhood friends who are recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.

The lifetime-achievement Cecil B. DeMille Award went to Oscar- and Emmy-winning actor Anthony Hopkins, who was introduced by Gwyneth Paltrow, his co-star in the 2005 film Proof.

Produced by Dick Clark Productions in association with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the 63rd Annual Golden Globes aired live on NBC tonight and will be seen by viewers in over 150 countries. Read on for a complete list of winners.

Read on for a complete list of winners.