Lithgow won Best Actor in a Play for portraying author Roald Dahl in Giant, a drama that explores Dahl’s antisemitism. With the win, the 80-year-old became the oldest male performer ever to receive a competitive acting Tony Award.
The previous record belonged to actor Roy Dotrice, who won at the age of 77 for A Moon for the Misbegotten in 2000. Other senior winners in Tony history include the late Dick Latessa, who won for Hairspray at 73, and André De Shields, who matched that age when he won for Hadestown in 2019. Interestingly, De Shields, now also 80, was nominated again this year for Cats: The Jellicle Ball but lost the category to Ali Louis Bourzgui of The Lost Boys.
The achievement marks another major chapter in Lithgow’s long relationship with Broadway. His latest win comes 53 years after his first Tony Award, setting a new record for the longest gap between competitive acting Tony victories.
Lithgow’s first Tony came in 1973 for The Changing Room, where he won in the Featured Actor in a Play category. That 53-year span surpasses the previous record held by the late Angela Lansbury, whose Tony wins were separated by 43 years between 1966 and 2009. Other notable long gaps include Patti LuPone’s 42 years and Frank Langella’s 41 years.
The Giant star was competing in a strong category that included Nathan Lane for Death of a Salesman, Daniel Radcliffe for Every Brilliant Thing, Mark Strong for Oedipus and Will Harrison for Punch. Lane, who was hoping to secure a fourth Tony Award, ultimately lost out to Lithgow.
The win also places Lithgow in an exclusive group of theatre legends. He has now won Tony Awards in three different acting categories — Featured Actor in a Play (The Changing Room), Leading Actor in a Musical (Sweet Smell of Success, 2002) and Leading Actor in a Play (Giant).
Only four performers in Tony Awards history have achieved victories across three or more acting categories. Lithgow now joins Kevin Kline and Boyd Gaines as three-category winners, while Audra McDonald remains the only performer to have won in four acting categories.
Accepting the honour on stage, Lithgow reflected on the extraordinary journey that brought him back to Tony glory more than five decades after his Broadway debut.
“I’m such a lucky actor. This is my third Tony Award. My first one was 53 years ago at my Broadway debut in the American premiere of an English play, which by an amazing coincidence originated at London’s Royal Court Theatre, just like ‘Giant,’” Lithgow said.
Looking back on the milestone, he added, “Two Tony bookends with 53 years between them. In those years, I have worked with hundreds of just fantastic theatre artists. I’ve had dozens and dozens of ecstatic moments on the stage, but I have to tell you right now, this moment has got to be one of the best.”
For Lithgow, the latest Tony is more than just another trophy. It is a reminder that even after more than five decades on stage, there are still new records to break and new chapters to write.
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