Brazilian actor Wagner Moura has made Golden Globes history, becoming the first Brazilian performer to win Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama).
The landmark moment came at the 2026 Golden Globe Awards, held on Sunday, 11 January, at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, and has drawn strong interest from UK film audiences and critics alike.
Moura won for his leading role in The Secret Agent, a politically charged drama directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, cementing the film’s position as one of the most critically respected international releases of the past year.
His emotional acceptance speech joined a night that also saw moving moments from British winners, including Stephen Graham’s heartfelt Golden Globe moment, highlighting the ceremony’s strong focus on personal storytelling.
Who is Wagner Moura, and why is this Golden Globe win significant?
Wagner Moura, 49, is best known internationally for his roles in Narcos and Civil War, but his Golden Globes victory represents a career-defining moment.
He is now:
- The first Brazilian actor to win Best Actor (Drama) at the Golden Globes
- One of the few non-English language performers to win in the category
- A rare example of a performance rooted in Latin American political history being recognised by Hollywood’s major awards bodies
For UK audiences, this win reinforces the growing global reach of non-English cinema on mainstream platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and UK arthouse releases.
What role did Wagner Moura win the Golden Globe for?
In The Secret Agent, Moura plays Armando, a former university professor forced into hiding during Brazil’s military dictatorship in 1977.
Wagner Moura is the #GoldenGlobes winner for Best – Motion Picture – Drama for their performance in The Secret Agent! 🎥✨ pic.twitter.com/jONtZja9Yq
— Golden Globes (@goldenglobes) January 12, 2026
The film explores:
- Political persecution
- Generational trauma
- Memory, silence, and resistance
Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, the film has been praised for blending political history with deeply personal storytelling.
What did Wagner Moura say during his acceptance speech?
Accepting the award on stage, Moura paid tribute to his fellow nominees and reflected on the deeper meaning of the film.
“The Secret Agent is a film about memory, or the lack of memory, and generational trauma. I think that if trauma can be passed along generations, values can too. So this is to the ones that are sticking with their values in difficult moments.”
Wagner Moura accepting his historic Golden Globe.
He becomes the first Brazilian to win the category of Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture Drama.
pic.twitter.com/K945diKHHx— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) January 12, 2026
His comments were widely shared online, with many viewers praising the speech for its clarity and political relevance at a time when historical accountability remains a global issue.
How does this Golden Globe win compare to Wagner Moura’s earlier awards?
Moura’s Golden Globe win follows major recognition earlier in the year:
| Award Body | Year | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cannes Film Festival | 2025 | Best Actor | Won |
| Cannes Film Festival | 2025 | Best Director (Mendonça Filho) | Won |
| Golden Globe Awards | 2026 | Best Actor (Drama) | Won |
This positions The Secret Agent as one of the most critically successful international films of the past year.
Who were the other Best Actor nominees at the 2026 Golden Globes?
Wagner Moura beat strong competition, including:
- Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams
- Oscar Isaac – Frankenstein
- Dwayne Johnson – The Smashing Machine
- Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
- Jeremy Allen White – Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Several of these films also received multiple nominations across directing, music, and screenplay categories.
Why does this matter for UK film audiences?
UK cinema-goers have increasingly embraced international and subtitled films, with strong box office and streaming performance for foreign-language titles over the past five years.
Moura’s win reflects:
- Growing acceptance of non-English performances in major awards
- Increased appetite in the UK for political and historical cinema
- A shift away from purely Hollywood-centric storytelling
British independent cinemas and streaming platforms are expected to pick up The Secret Agent following the awards momentum.
