Sam Rockwell’s Golden Globes Win Fuels a Debate

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Sam Rockwell is the kind of actor for whom “supporting actor” categories were invented: a steady, colorful presence in acclaimed movies that are often headlined by higher-wattage stars. So plenty of people were happy to see him take home the Golden Globe for actor in a supporting role Sunday night.

But not everyone was pleased with the movie, and performance, for which he won the honor. “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” — Martin McDonagh’s violent revenge parable starring Mr. Rockwell and Frances McDormand — has been the subject of fierce debate on social media and among critics who have sparred over both its artistic merits and its racial politics. Mr. Rockwell’s character is a police officer who, among other sins, is deeply racist.

On Twitter, some expressed disappointment that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which produces the Globes, rewarded the film, while others said their enthusiasm for Mr. Rockwell was dampened by their distaste for his character.

In The Times’s live chat about the ceremony, critic-at-large Wesley Morris put it this way: “Yes, everybody, I’m a Sam Rockwell fan who despises the moral and emotional and metaphorical confusion that is ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.’”

“Three Billboards,” which also won the Globe for best screenplay (by Mr. McDonagh), was one of the most nominated films at Globes, with six total nominations, including best drama, and best director. It was Mr. Rockwell’s first Golden Globe award.