Globe Winners Reflect, At Length

"The Aviator" took home three Golden Globe awards, including the one for best dramatic film. The movie's leading man, Leonardo DiCaprio, won the Globe for Best Actor in a Dramatic Film.

Backstage afterwards, DiCaprio told The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen he's still fascinated by the man he played.

"I picked up a book on his life, and it was one of those multidimensional, interesting, complex characters that you just don't come across. I mean, no writer could imagine a life like this: A man who was in the pioneering age of cinema and aviation; America's first billionaire; the Casanova of his time; but was then completely disturbed by microscopic imaginary germs. Who could think of something like that?"

During his acceptance speech, DiCaprio urged people to continue to contribute to tsunami relief efforts.

Later, he said to Chen, "We are all privileged people here and, you know, we're at this fun-loving awards show, and certainly, when there is a situation that's such a global tragedy…it was just important for me to mention it…and this show gets such incredible coverage that I thought it would be a good opportunity."

DiCaprio added, "The place where I filmed "The Beach" -- the actual island and the town where I stayed -- were completely devastated. I got to know the people there after spending a year of my life there and I was charmed by their warmth and their generosity, and I was devastated when I heard the news."

Jamie Foxx took home the award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, for bringing the heart and soul of Ray Charles to life in "Ray."

There's a reason Foxx seemed at home at the piano in the movie: If things had worked out differently, he says he would have been a musician, not an actor.

"The music is where I started," he told Chen. "But it didn't take off. So what I did was, implemented music into my stand-up routine, and that's when Keenen Wayans and Jim Carrey and those guys saw me. It was always a process of having pleasant discoveries about your career."

He explained to Chen that the award is particularly important because it "means, for one, an education for young black kids who are watching, like when I was watching Denzel Washington and Halle Berry; I was like, 'What's with the suits and the statues?' And actually, when I would see Denzel like, out, you know, when I was just a young comedian, I would march like, 'Ohhhh, dear.'

"And one day, I got a chance to talk to him about the awards. Because, 'Hurricane,' he didn't receive an award for it. And I said, 'Oh, dude, I still dig you.' And he said, 'Let me explain to you what it means.' And he explained. I am not going to share all the private things he explained. It means respect and he said, 'Respect it.' He said whether it happens or not, you keep walking in the right direction of art, and if it does happen, you respect it."

Foxx, the night's sentimental favorite, got choked up during his acceptance speech when thinking about his grandmother, who died just days before "Ray" was released.

Chen asked Foxx, "What would you say to her, and what would she say to you?"

"I would say to her, I love her," he responded. "She would probably say, 'You know, you did a great job, but don't relax. What's next? Don't come in my house late. I don't care what kind of high score or what kind of Golden Globe you got. You be in at a decent time.' And that was the great thing about her: No matter what I was doing, I was still that little young kid. And she developed me to be a Southern gentleman."

Hilary Swank won her second award for Best Actress in a Drama, for her knockout performance as a boxer in "Million Dollar Baby."

Is it any different the second time?

"Well, I thought, just with the press and everything, that it was different, just because I was like, 'OK. I know what to expect.' You know, I could be a little more relaxed with it. But I have to tell you, being here was like the first time for me. I was just as nervous. I was just as thankful. I was just as beside myself. I was just in disbelief that I was sitting among all these incredible people. I am just pinching myself."

Swank won an Oscar in 2000 for "Boys Don't Cry," propelled in part by her Globe for that role.

In that year's Academy Awards race, Swank beat out Annette Bening, who'd been nominated for her performance in "American Beauty."

Bening won Sunday night for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, for "Being Julia."

Look for an Oscar Round Two between them next month.