The 71st annual Golden Globes nominations reveal Thursday provided a bright spike to dozens of actors and filmmakers' mornings, including several who shared their delight and surprise on TODAY.
"It's absolutely, absolutely thrilling," Chiwetel Ejiofor told the TODAY anchors. The actor received a lead actor nomination for his role in "12 Years a Slave," the true story of a free black man in pre-Civil War America who is kidnapped and sold into slavery. He was also recognized for his work on the Starz miniseries "Dancing on the Edge."
"Everything about ("12 Years") right from the moment that I opened the script and started reading about Solomon Northrup ... it's just been a really amazing journey," added Ejiofor. "So this is just fantastic. It's the most surreal."
His "12 Years" co-star Lupita Nyong'o also made a remote appearance on TODAY, calling in with a beautiful view of Paris' Arc de Triomphe in the background. Nyong'o, received a supporting actress nod for portraying Patsey, which was also her first major feature role.
"It was like a rollercoaster going down," she said. "I'm still shaking from hearing my name in that context."
Meanwhile, "Inside Llewyn Davis" titular star Oscar Isaac had already joined the TODAY anchors on the plaza for a quick chat about the movie, then reacted to his best actor nomination for the movie about a 1960s folk musician.
"I'm still just kind of taking it in," he told them. "It's completely surreal. ... Getting cast as a lead in a Coen brothers movie I had won already, so the fact that it continues with getting acknowledged by the Hollywood Foreign Press is just insane, man."
And, he agreed, there's a bonus: More people may come and see the film knowing there's a Golden Globe lead actor nominee it it.
"Butts in seats!" he laughed.
Meanwhile, other actors, filmmakers, TV showrunners and well-wishers took to Twitter to express their congratulations and surprise.
The Golden Globes airs live on NBC on Jan. 12, 2014.
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