| 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 | John Lithgow forGiant (2025) |
| Website | officiallondontheatre |
TheLaurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Play is an annual award presented by theSociety of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society ofWest End Theatre Awards in1976, and renamed in1984 in honour of English actor and directorLaurence Olivier.
This award was introduced in1985, asActor of the Year, then retitled to its current name for the1993 ceremony. Prior to this award, from 1976 to 1984 (and again in1988), there was a pair of awards given each year for this general category, one forActor of the Year in a New Play and the other forActor of the Year in a Revival.
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| Year | Actor | Play | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | |||
| Antony Sher | Richard III andTorch Song Trilogy | Richard III of England / Arnold Beckoff | |
| Alun Armstrong | The Crucible andThe 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 andThe Rover | Arcite / Jack Jefferson / Belville | |
| Nicholas Woodeson | Sarcophagus andFlight | Bessmertny / Mike Levine | |
| 1989/90 | |||
| Oliver Ford Davies | Racing Demon | The Rev. Lionel Espy | |
| Nigel Hawthorne | Shadowlands | Lewis | |
| Ian McKellen | Othello andBent | Iago / Max | |
| Michael Pennington | The Wars of the Roses | Various Characters |
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.
From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction — you must stay at home.
{{cite speech}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Step 4 of the roadmap will allow productions to play without capacity restrictions. June 21 was the goal; now, the government is eyeing July 19.
Any new production that opened between 19 Feb. 2020 to 22 Feb. 2022 are eligible for categories in the 2022 Olivier Awards. With two years worth of shows set for honours in one year's ceremony, the 2022 Olivier Awards will prove tougher competition than before.