Brazil marked a historic night at the 2026 Golden Globe Awards on Sunday (January 11), as The Secret Agent became the first Brazilian film ever to win two awards in a single edition of the ceremony.
Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho and starring Wagner Moura, the film took home Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama and Best Non-English Language Film, winning two of the three categories for which it was nominated.
Until now, Brazil’s Golden Globes history had been marked by single wins. In 1999, Central Station won Best Foreign Language Film, while Fernanda Montenegro was nominated for Best Actress. More recently, in 2025, I’m Still Here earned a Best Actress win for Fernanda Torres but did not secure multiple trophies in the same year.
This year, The Secret Agent entered the race with three nominations and ultimately fell short only in the Best Motion Picture – Drama category, which went to Hamnet: The Life Before Hamlet.
A Political Thriller Set in 1970s Brazil
Set in the 1970s, during Brazil’s military dictatorship, The Secret Agent follows a university professor, played by Wagner Moura, who returns to Recife to reunite with his youngest son while navigating the dangers of political repression. The film blends personal memory with collective trauma, themes that resonated strongly with international audiences and critics.
Wagner Moura’s victory marked another milestone: he became the first Brazilian actor to win Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama at the Golden Globes. In his acceptance speech, he thanked Mendonça Filho and reflected on the film’s message.
“This is a film about memory, about the absence of memory, and about generational trauma,” Moura said. “If trauma can be passed down through generations, values can be too. This award is for those who are holding on to their values in difficult times.”
He competed against Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams), Oscar Isaac (Frankenstein), Dwayne Johnson (The Smashing Machine), Michael B. Jordan (Sinners), and Jeremy Allen White (Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere).
International Recognition and Critical Acclaim
The Secret Agent also won Best Non-English Language Film, marking Brazil’s first victory in the category in 27 years, since Central Station. Presenter Minnie Driver announced the award by first saying “parabéns” in Portuguese before naming the film in English.
Onstage, Mendonça Filho greeted viewers with an enthusiastic “Hello, Brazil,” thanked the cast, and praised Moura, saying that “the best things happen when you have a great actor and a great friend.”
International media quickly echoed the significance of the night. The Washington Post noted that Moura “keeps breaking records,” recalling that he was the first Brazilian nominated for Best Actor at the Golden Globes, the first South American actor to win at Cannes, and the first Latino to receive Best Actor honors from the New York Film Critics Circle.
In the UK, The Guardian highlighted that, one year after Fernanda Torres became the first Brazilian to win a Golden Globe, Moura became the second Brazilian artist to take home the trophy. France’s Le Figaro described the result as a “historic double victory,” reinforcing Brazil’s position as a leading force in contemporary auteur cinema. Spain’s El País emphasized the film’s triumph over major European productions, while Argentina’s Clarín went as far as predicting an Oscar nomination for Moura.
