The Golden Globes are always a bit looser than most awards show – after all, there’s an open bar. So it was only fitting that at the 2024 Golden Globes on Sunday (Jan. 7) night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., one winner took his acceptance speech as a chance for a little human touch with an iconic rocker.

When it was revealed that Poor Things nabbed the award for best motion picture – musical or comedy, a team of people behind the film, including star/producer Emma Stone and director/producer Yorgos Lanthimos, took the stage. Stone had spoken earlier that night when she won the award for best performance by a female actor in a motion picture – musical or comedy and chose to abdicate her acceptance speech slot as one of the film’s producers, forcing the Greek director to take the mic.

Considering the unconventional film is about a young woman (played by Stone) attempting to get the most out of life regardless of social expectations, it was perhaps inevitable that Lanthimos threw polite protocol to the wind at the Globes and used his moment in the spotlight to satiate his hungry heart.

“I just wanted to speak to Bruce Springsteen the whole night,” Lanthimos said as he grabbed the mic. “We have the same birthday – the 23rd of September!” As Stone and the Poor Things cast and crew laughed behind him, the camera cut to Springsteen flashing a thumbs up from his table. (Springsteen was a 2024 Golden Globe nominee for writing “Addicted to Romance” for She Came to Me, which was up for best original song but lost to Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell’s “What Was I Made For?” from the blockbuster Barbie film.)

“He’s been my hero since I grew up,” Lanthimos explained. “Anyway, I’m wasting my time.”

Lanthimos went on to thank Searchlight Pictures for making the film, his cast and his crew (“Emma, she’s the best,” he said), but couldn’t walk away without one more shout-out to the Boss. “Thank you, Bruce Springsteen, for making me grew up [sic] the way I did.”

When social conventions said “sit down,” Yorgos stood up. Growin’ up.

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