Jo Koy speaks to reporters during the Golden Globe Awards Press Preview at the Beverly Hilton on Thursday, January 4, 2024, in Beverly Hills, California. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
LOS ANGELES — Jo Koy remembers watching major award ceremonies like the Golden Globes with his mother on their living room sofa trying to guess the winners.
It was a ritual that Koy cherished as a child. Since then, he’s grown as a comedian with various stand-up specials and several acting credits including last year’s film “Easter Sunday.”
On Sunday, Koy will live out his childhood dream of hosting the Globes – which is looking to return to form after being tarnished following years of scandal. He calls his upcoming duties a “very big moment.”
“This is a throwback to my childhood, and now I’m the guy who’s onstage,” said Koy, the second Asian host in Globes history. (Sandra Oh emceed the show in 2019.) He wants to the inspire those from the Asian community in his first major hosting gig.
“As a kid and watching TV and not having that many role models to kind of indirectly inspire me, that’s what this means to me,” said the Filipino American actor, whose “Easter Sunday” film became the first big studio movie with an all-Filipino ensemble. He’s released five stand-up specials on Comedy Central and Netflix, including his most recent Netflix special, “Live From The Los Angeles Forum.”
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“I know there’s kids out there that will be watching the Globes,” he said. “And now when they see this, it’s like ‘Oh, it’s possible. I can do this.’ Things aren’t so gray anymore. It’s not just two colors on the palette. Sometime three. Every color is on the palette. This is a beautiful moment. I really want to make sure I knock this out of the park.”
Koy hopes to leave a positive mark on the Globes, which are the first major broadcast of awards season. It airs live beginning at 5 p.m. Pacific on CBS and Paramount+ for users with a Showtime subscription.
The show is known for being a boozy celebration of television and film with a more party-like atmosphere compared to their Academy Award counterparts.
But the Globes faced tremendous backlash after a 2021 report in the Los Angeles Times found there were zero Black members in the group that only had 87 foreign journalists. The membership has since been revamped with a voting body of 300.
All indications point to a starry show, which will include presenters such as Michelle Yeoh, Will Ferrell, Angela Bassett, America Ferrera, and Amanda Seyfried.
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Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” leads the Globes nominations with nine including for best picture musical or comedy as well as acting nominations for Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling and three of its original songs. It is closely followed by its release date and meme companion “Oppenheimer,” which scored eight nominations, including for best picture drama, best director for Christopher Nolan and nods for actors Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt.
Koy gave praise to Dick Clark Productions, the awards’ producer, and an owner of the Globes’ longtime home, the Beverly Hilton.
“This production company has been nothing but top notch,” he said. “The relationship with CBS is beautiful. It’s fun to see this because this is how things should be ran. We need to start moving forward. That’s what this is. We’re moving forward now. You learn from the past and you make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Koy said he’s anxious to hit the Globes stage to deliver his brand of relatable humor.
“They’re giving me the blessing to be me,” he said. “I want to bring my style to the Globes. Of course, I’m going to have fun. But most importantly, I want to make sure everyone’s happy. I’m going to make fun of myself. If I can do that, I can make fun of other people.”