Rule Britannia, and Britannia rules at the Golden Globes

The Brits -- and the Commonwealthers -- have always done well when it comes time for the Golden Globes and the Oscars. After all, the thesping tradition goes back to Shakespeare and before across ye olde Pond. But the 2009 Golden Globe awards were dominated by the Union Jack and its Down Under brethren more so than recent years. Of the six movie acting winners Sunday night, only one -- Mickey Rourke -- is American. Kate Winslet (supporting actress), Kate Winslet (actress/drama) and Sally Hawkins (actress/comedy) are English, of course. Colin Farrell (actor/comedy) hails from Ireland, and the late Heath Ledger from Australia.

And although the night's big best picture winner, Slumdog Millionaire, is set in Mumbai,India, its director is Britain's Danny Boyle, its winning screenwriter Anglo Simon Beaufoy..

On the TV front, it wasn't quite so limey-lopsided, although Globe glommers Tom Wilkinson (supporting actor/miniseries), Gabriel Byrne (actor/miniseries) and Anna Paquin (actress/miniseries) are, respectively, English, Irish and a Canadian-born New Zealander.