Golden Globes 2017: Brad Pitt’s Appearance Was the Surprise of the Night

Award show attendance is fairly predictable: You get nominated, you show up. With the exception of a few celebrity spouses and plus-ones, we can generally anticipate almost everyone who will walk down the red carpet.

But at this year’s Golden Globe Awards, one unexpected guest gave attendees and television audiences quite the surprise.

More than halfway through the ceremony, Brad Pitt took the stage to present Moonlight. The rare appearance by Pitt is one of the few times that he has been seen in public since his split with Angelina in September.

While the choice of presenter may have seemed random to those who don’t bury their nose in the Hollywood trade papers every morning, it turns out Brad Pitt’s production company, Plan B Entertainment, helped to produce the film. In fact, Pitt and Plan B’s productions have become quite a force on the awards circuit in recent year. Other Plan B productions include Selma, 12 Years a Slave, The Big Short, and The Departed.

The actor introduced the movie by saying it was “born of the courage of a group of actors willing to strip to their souls and express their humanism inside mistake and misstep and misdeed.”

Judging by the completely shocked looks on everyone’s faces, it seems like no one, not even fellow A-listers like Matt Damon and Vince Vaughn, knew he was going to walk on stage. While no one may have expected the actor to show up at the ceremony, people seemed very happy to see him.

And while some viewers seemed upset by the fact that the Golden Globes selected a white presenter to introduce Moonlight, many praised the choice and Pitt’s continuous efforts to create films that celebrate diversity.

The film was nominated in six categories, including Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali), Best Supporting Actress (Naomie Harris), Best Director (Barry Jenkins), Best Screenplay and Best Original Score. The film led in number of nominations at the ceremony, second only to La La Land. Moonlight also took home the trophy for Best Motion Picture – Drama.