Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor
Annual award for London theatre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Play is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of the "world-class status of London theatre."[1][2] The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards in 1976, and renamed in 1984 in honour of English actor and director Laurence Olivier.
| Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor | |
|---|---|
The 2025 Recipient: John Lithgow | |
| Awarded for | Best Actor in a Play |
| Location |  England |
| Presented by | Society of London Theatre |
| First award | 1985 |
| Currently held by | Jack Holden for Kenrex (2026) |
| Website | officiallondontheatre |
This award was introduced in 1985, as Actor of the Year, then retitled to its current name for the 1993 ceremony. Prior to this award, from 1976 to 1984 (and again in 1988), there was a pair of awards given each year for this general category, one for Actor of the Year in a New Play and the other for Actor of the Year in a Revival.
Winners and nominees
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1980s
| Year | Actor | Play | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | |||
| Antony Sher | Richard III and Torch Song Trilogy | Richard III of England / Arnold Beckoff | |
| Alun Armstrong | The Crucible and The Winter's Tale | John Proctor / Leontes | |
| Kenneth Branagh | Henry V | Henry V of England | |
| Anthony Hopkins | Pravda | Lambert Le Roux | |
| 1986 | |||
| Albert Finney | Orphans | Harold | |
| Derek Jacobi | Breaking the Code | Alan Turing | |
| Ian McKellen | The Cherry Orchard | Lopakhin | |
| Martin Sheen | The Normal Heart | Ned Weeks | |
| 1987 | |||
| Michael Gambon | A View from the Bridge | Eddie Carbone | |
| Tokusaburo Arashi | Medea | Medea | |
| Hugh Quarshie | The Two Noble Kinsmen, The Great White Hope and The Rover | Arcite / Jack Jefferson / Belville | |
| Nicholas Woodeson | Sarcophagus and Flight | Bessmertny / Mike Levine | |
| 1989/90 | |||
| Oliver Ford Davies | Racing Demon | The Rev. Lionel Espy | |
| Nigel Hawthorne | Shadowlands | Lewis | |
| Ian McKellen | Othello and Bent | Iago / Max | |
| Michael Pennington | The Wars of the Roses | Various Characters |
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
- Due to late March 2020[3] to late July 2021[4] closing of London theatre productions during the COVID-19 pandemic in England, the 2022 awards recognise productions that launched anytime from February 2020 to February 2022[5]
Multiple awards and nominations for Best Actor
Note: The below awards and nominations include individuals awarded and nominated under the now-defunct categories Actor of the Year in a New Play and Actor of the Year in a Revival as well as the current combined Best Actor category.
Awards
- Four awards
- Two awards
Nominations
- Eleven nominations
- Ten nominations
- Seven nominations
- Five nominations
- Four nominations
- Three nominations
- Two nominations
- Alun Armstrong
- Michael Bryant
- Tom Conti
- Kenneth Cranham
- Bryan Cranston
- Benedict Cumberbatch
- Rupert Everett
- Albert Finney
- Iain Glen
- Richard Griffiths
- Alec Guinness
- Nigel Hawthorne
- Tom Hiddleston
- Tom Hollander
- Emrys James
- Rory Kinnear
- Adrian Lester
- Daniel Massey
- Peter McEnery
- Michael Pennington
- Donald Sinden
- Mark Strong
- Rafe Spall
- Ken Stott
- John Wood
Multiple awards and nominations for a character
Awards
- Two awards
- Falstaff from Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2
- Richard III of England from Richard III
- Willy Loman from Death of a Salesman
- Eddie Carbone from A View from the Bridge
Nominations
- Six nominations
- Prince Hamlet from Hamlet
- Four nominations
- King Lear from King Lear
- Uncle Vanya from Uncle Vanya
- Three nominations
- Coriolanus from Coriolanus
- Eddie Carbone from A View from the Bridge
- Falstaff from Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2
- Henry V of England from Henry V
- Iago from Othello
- Leontes from The Winter's Tale
- Shylock from The Merchant of Venice
- Spooner from No Man's Land
- Willy Loman from Death of a Salesman
- Two nominations
- Benedick from Much Ado About Nothing
- Captain Shotover from Heartbreak House
- Davies from The Caretaker
- George III from The Madness of George III
- Joe Keller from All My Sons
- John Procter from The Crucible
- Macbeth from Macbeth
- Max from The Homecoming
- Ned Weeks from The Normal Heart
- Olivia from Twelfth Night
- Richard III of England from Richard III