Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play
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Template:Short description Template:Short descriptionScript error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actors for quality leading roles in a Broadway play. The awards are named after Antoinette Perry, an American actress who died in 1946.
Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, to "honor the best performances and stage productions of the previous year."[1]
The award was originally called the Tony Award for Actors—Play. It was first presented to José Ferrer and Fredric March at the 1st Tony Awards for their portrayals of Cyrano De Bergerac and Clinton Jones in Cyrano de Bergerac and Years Ago, respectively. Before 1956, nominees' names were not made public;[2] the change was made by the awards committee to "have a greater impact on theatregoers".[3]
Nine actors hold the record for having the most wins in this category, with a total of two. Brian Bedford and Jason Robards are tied with the most nominations, with a total of seven. George in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is the character to take the award the most times, winning three times.
Winners and nominees
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1940s
| Year | Actor | Project | Role(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 (1st)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
José Ferrer | Cyrano de Bergerac | Cyrano De Bergerac | |
| Fredric March | Years Ago | Clinton Jones | ||
| 1948 (2nd)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Henry Fonda | Mister Roberts | Lt. Roberts | |
| Paul Kelly | Command Decision | Brigadier General K.C. Dennis | ||
| Basil Rathbone | The Heiress | Dr. Austin Sloper | ||
| 1949 (3rd)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Rex Harrison | Anne of the Thousand Days | Henry VIII |
1950s
| Year | Actor | Project | Role(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 (4th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Sidney Blackmer | Come Back, Little Sheba | Doc | ||
| 1951 (5th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Claude Rains | Darkness at Noon | Rubashov | ||
| 1952 (6th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| José Ferrer | The Shrike | Jim Downs | ||
| 1953 (7th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Tom Ewell | The Seven Year Itch | Richard Sherman | ||
| 1954 (8th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| David Wayne | The Teahouse of the August Moon | Sakini | ||
| 1955 (9th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Alfred Lunt | Quadrille | Diensen | ||
| 1956 (10th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Paul Muni | Inherit the Wind | Henry Drummond | [4] | |
| Ben Gazzara | A Hatful of Rain | Johnny Pope | ||
| Boris Karloff | The Lark | Pierre Cauchon | ||
| Michael Redgrave | Tiger at the Gates | Hector | ||
| Edward G. Robinson | Middle of the Night | The Manufacturer | ||
| 1957 (11th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Fredric March | Long Day's Journey into Night | James Tyrone Sr. | [5] | |
| Maurice Evans | The Apple Cart | King Magnus | ||
| Wilfrid Hyde-White | The Reluctant Debutante | Jimmy Broadbent | ||
| Eric Portman | Separate Tables | Mr. Malcolm / Major Pollock | ||
| Ralph Richardson | The Waltz of the Toreadors | General St. Pé | ||
| Cyril Ritchard | Visit to a Small Planet | Kreton | ||
| 1958 (12th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Ralph Bellamy | Sunrise at Campobello | Franklin D. Roosevelt | [6] | |
| Richard Burton | Time Remembered | Prince Albert | ||
| Hugh Griffith | Look Homeward, Angel | W.O. Gant | ||
| Laurence Olivier | The Entertainer | Archie Rice | ||
| Anthony Perkins | Look Homeward, Angel | Eugene Gant | ||
| Peter Ustinov | Romanoff and Juliet | The General | ||
| Emlyn Williams | A Boy Growing Up | Himself | ||
| 1959 (13th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Jason Robards | The Disenchanted | Manley Halliday | [7] | |
| Cedric Hardwicke | A Majority of One | Koichi Asano | ||
| Alfred Lunt | The Visit | Anton Schill | ||
| Christopher Plummer | J.B. | Nickles | ||
| Cyril Ritchard | The Pleasure of His Company | Biddeford Poole | ||
| Robert Stephens | Epitaph for George Dillon | George Dillon |
1960s
1970s
| Year | Actor | Project | Role(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 (24th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Fritz Weaver | Child's Play | Jerome Malley | [18] | |
| James Coco | Last of the Red Hot Lovers | Barney Cashman | ||
| Frank Grimes | Borstal Boy | Young Behan | ||
| Stacy Keach | Indians | Buffalo Bill | ||
| 1971 (25th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Brian Bedford | The School for Wives | Arnolphe | [19] | |
| John Gielgud | Home | Harry | ||
| Alec McCowen | The Philanthropist | Philip | ||
| Ralph Richardson | Home | Jack | ||
| 1972 (26th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Cliff Gorman | Lenny | Lenny Bruce | [20] | |
| Tom Aldredge | Sticks and Bones | Ozzie | ||
| Donald Pleasence | Wise Child | Mrs. Artminster | ||
| Jason Robards | The Country Girl | Frank Elgin | ||
| 1973 (27th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Alan Bates | Butley | Ben Butley | [21] | |
| Jack Albertson | The Sunshine Boys | Willie Clark | ||
| Wilfrid Hyde-White | The Jockey Club Stakes | Marquis of Candover | ||
| Paul Sorvino | That Championship Season | Phil Romano | ||
| 1974 (28th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Michael Moriarty | Find Your Way Home | Julian Weston | [22] | |
| Zero Mostel | Ulysses in Nighttown | Leopold Bloom | ||
| Jason Robards | A Moon for the Misbegotten | James Tyrone Jr. | ||
| George C. Scott | Uncle Vanya | Mikhail lvovich Astrov | ||
| Nicol Williamson | Ivan Petrovich Voinitsky | |||
| 1975 (29th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| John Kani & Winston Ntshona | Sizwe Banzi Is Dead / The Island | Various Characters | [23] | |
| Jim Dale | Scapino! | Scapino | ||
| Peter Firth | Equus | Alan Strang | ||
| Henry Fonda | Clarence Darrow | Clarence Darrow | ||
| Ben Gazzara | Hughie and Duet | "Erie" Smith | ||
| John Wood | Sherlock Holmes | Sherlock Holmes | ||
| 1976 (30th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| John Wood | Travesties | Henry Carr | [24] | |
| Moses Gunn | The Poison Tree | Benjamin Hurspool | ||
| George C. Scott | Death of a Salesman | Willy Loman | ||
| Donald Sinden | Habeas Corpus | Arthur Wicksteed | ||
| 1977 (31st)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Al Pacino | The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel | Pavlo Hummel | [25] | |
| Tom Courtenay | Otherwise Engaged | Simon | ||
| Ben Gazzara | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | George | ||
| Ralph Richardson | No Man's Land | Hirst | ||
| 1978 (32nd)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Barnard Hughes | Da | Da | [26] | |
| Hume Cronyn | The Gin Game | Weller Martin | ||
| Frank Langella | Dracula | Dracula | ||
| Jason Robards | A Touch of the Poet | Cornelius Melody | ||
| 1979 (33rd)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Tom Conti | Whose Life Is It Anyway? | Ken Harrison | [27] | |
| Philip Anglim | The Elephant Man | John Merrick | ||
| Jack Lemmon | Tribute | Scottie Templeton | ||
| Alec McCowen | St. Mark's Gospel | Mark |
1980s
| Year | Actor | Project | Role(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 (34th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| John Rubinstein | Children of a Lesser God | James Leeds | [28] | |
| Charles Brown | Home | Cephus Miles | ||
| Gerald Hiken | Strider | Strider | ||
| Judd Hirsch | Talley's Folly | Matt Friedman | ||
| 1981 (35th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Ian McKellen | Amadeus | Antonio Salieri | [29] | |
| Tim Curry | Amadeus | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | ||
| Roy Dotrice | A Life | Drumm | ||
| Jack Weston | The Floating Light Bulb | Jerry Wexler | ||
| 1982 (36th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Roger Rees | The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby | Nicholas Nickleby | [30] | |
| Tom Courtenay | The Dresser | Norman | ||
| Milo O'Shea | Mass Appeal | Father Tim Farley | ||
| Christopher Plummer | Othello | Iago | ||
| 1983 (37th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Harvey Fierstein | Torch Song Trilogy | Arnold Beckoff | [31] | |
| Jeffrey DeMunn | K2 | Taylor | ||
| Edward Herrmann | Plenty | Raymond Brock | ||
| Tony Lo Bianco | A View from the Bridge | Eddie Carbone | ||
| 1984 (38th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Jeremy Irons | The Real Thing | Henry | [32] | |
| Rex Harrison | Heartbreak House | Captain Shotover | ||
| Calvin Levels | Open Admissions | Calvin Jefferson | ||
| Ian McKellen | Ian McKellen Acting Shakespeare | Himself | ||
| 1985 (39th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Derek Jacobi | Much Ado About Nothing | Benedick | [33] | |
| Jim Dale | A Day in the Death of Joe Egg | Bri | ||
| Jonathan Hogan | As Is | Rich | ||
| John Lithgow | Requiem for a Heavyweight | Harlan "Mountain" McClintock | ||
| 1986 (40th)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Judd Hirsch | I'm Not Rappaport | Nat | [34] | |
| Hume Cronyn | The Petition | General Sir Edmund Milne | ||
| Ed Harris | Precious Sons | Fred | ||
| Jack Lemmon | Long Day's Journey into Night | James Tyrone Sr. | ||
| 1987 (41st)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| James Earl Jones | Fences | Troy Maxson | [35] | |
| Philip Bosco | You Never Can Tell | Waiter | ||
| Richard Kiley | All My Sons | Joe Keller | ||
| Alan Rickman | Les Liaisons Dangereuses | Le Vicomte de Valmont | ||
| 1988 (42nd)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Ron Silver | Speed-the-Plow | Charlie Fox | [36] | |
| Derek Jacobi | Breaking the Code | Alan Turing | ||
| John Lithgow | M. Butterfly | Rene Gallimard | ||
| Robert Prosky | A Walk in the Woods | Andrey Botvinnik | ||
| 1989 (43rd)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| Philip Bosco | Lend Me a Tenor | Saunders | [37] | |
| Mikhail Baryshnikov | Metamorphosis | Gregor Samsa | ||
| Victor Garber | Lend Me a Tenor | Max | ||
| Bill Irwin | Largely New York | The Post-Modern Hoofer |
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Statistics
Most wins
- 2 wins
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Most nominations
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Character win total
- 3 wins
- George from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
- 2 wins
- Henry from The Real Thing
- James Tyrone Sr. from Long Day's Journey into Night
- Prior Walter from Angels in America
- Troy Maxson from Fences
Character nomination total
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Productions with multiple nominations
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- Look Homeward, Angel – Alizwa Mleni and Anthony Perkins
- The Best Man – Melvyn Douglas and Lee Tracy
- Philadelphia, Here I Come! – Patrick Bedford and Donal Donnelly (jointly)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Home – John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson
- Uncle Vanya – George C. Scott and Nicol Williamson
- Sizwe Banzi is Dead and The Island – John Kani and Winston Ntshona (jointly)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Amadeus – Ian McKellen and Tim Curry
- Lend Me A Tenor – Philip Bosco and Victor Garber
- True West – Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly
- Stones In His Pockets – Sean Campion and Conleth Hill
- God of Carnage – Jeff Daniels and James Gandolfini
- Sea Wall/A Life – Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge
- The Lehman Trilogy – Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Adrian Lester
- Topdog/Underdog – Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Corey Hawkins
Multiple awards and nominations
- Actors who have been nominated multiple times in any acting categories
Trivia
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- The lead role of George in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? has earned the Tony Award for three different actors who have performed the character:
- 1963 – Arthur Hill
- 2005 – Bill Irwin
- 2013 – Tracy Letts
- Other male roles have produced multiple Tony Award winners: Henry in Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing
- 1984 – Jeremy Irons
- 2000 – Stephen Dillane
- James Tyrone Sr., in Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night
- 1957 – Fredric March
- 2003 – Brian Dennehy
- Troy Maxson in August Wilson's Fences
- 1987 – James Earl Jones
- 2010 – Denzel Washington
- Prior Walter in Tony Kushner's Angels in America
- 1994 – Stephen Spinella
- 2018 – Andrew Garfield
- Spinella won this category in 1994 for playing Prior Walter in Angels in America: Perestroika one year after winning the award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for the same character in Angels in America: Millennium Approaches.
- In 2025, Cole Escola became the first non-binary actor to win the award, for their performance of Mary Todd Lincoln in Oh, Mary!.[73]
- Actors have won Tony Awards for both Best Actor in a Play and Best Actor in a Musical for playing Cyrano de Bergerac: Jose Ferrer in Cyrano de Bergerac and Christopher Plummer in Cyrano.
- Donald Moffat was nominated for his performances in two different productions, Right You Are (If You Think You Are) and The Wild Duck, at the 21st Tony Awards.
- The youngest winner in this acting category is Alex Sharp (age 26). The oldest is Frank Langella (age 78).
- Actors have won Tony Awards for both Best Actor in a Play and Best Actress in a Play for playing Mary Todd Lincoln: Cole Escola in Oh, Mary! and Julie Harris in The Last of Mrs. Lincoln.
See also
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- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play
- Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical
- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play
- Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor
- List of Tony Award-nominated productions
References
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External links
- Official Tony Awards website
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