Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor

The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor is an annual award presented by the The Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial British theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards in 1976, and, renamed in 1984 in honour of English actor Lord Olivier.

Award winners and nominations

1980s

• 1985: Antony Sher – Richard III / Torch Song Trilogy
• 1986: Albert Finney – Orphans
• 1987: Michael Gambon – A View from the Bridge
  • Tokusaburo Arashi – Medea
  • Hugh Quarshie – Two Noble Kinsmen / The Great White Hope / The Rover
  • Nicholas Woodeson – Sarcophagus / Flight

1990s

• 1990: Oliver Ford Davies – Racing Demon
  • Nigel Hawthorne – Shadowlands
  • Ian McKellen – Othello / Bent
  • Michael Pennington – The Wars of the Roses

• 1991: Ian McKellen – Richard III
  • Richard Harris – Henry IV
  • John Malkovich – Burn This
  • Warren Mitchell – The Homecoming

• 1992: Nigel Hawthorne – The Madness of George III
  • Marcus D'Amico – Angels in America
  • Robert Lindsay – Becket
  • Ian McKellen – Uncle Vanya

• 1993: Robert Stephens – Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2
  • Kenneth Cranham – An Inspector Calls
  • Paul Eddington – No Man's Land
  • Paul Scofield – Heartbreak House

• 1994: Mark Rylance – Much Ado About Nothing
  • Henry Goodman – Hysteria
  • Patrick Stewart – A Christmas Carol
  • David Suchet – Oleanna

• 1995: David Bamber – My Night with Reg
  • James Bolam – Glengarry Glen Ross
  • Adrian Lester – As You Like It
  • Bob Peck – Rutherford and Son

• 1996: Alex Jennings – Peer Gynt
  • Michael Gambon – Skylight
  • Daniel Massey – Taking Sides
  • Donal McCann – The Steward of Christendom

• 1997: Antony Sher – Stanley
  • Paul Scofield – John Gabriel Borkman
  • Ken Stott – 'Art'
  • David Suchet – Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

• 1998: Ian Holm – King Lear
  • Michael Gambon – Tom & Clem
  • Simon Russell Beale – Othello
  • Rupert Graves – Hurlyburly
  • John Wood – The Invention of Lure

• 1999: Kevin Spacey – The Iceman Cometh
  • Michael Gambon – The Unexpected Man
  • Iain Glen – The Blue Room
  • Jim Norton – The Weir
  • David Suchet – Amadeus

2000s

• 2000: Henry Goodman – The Merchant of Venice
  • Roger Allam – Summerfolk
  • Stephen Dillane – The Real Thing
  • Michael Sheen – Look Back in Anger
  • Antony Sher – A Winter's Tale

• 2001: Conleth Hill – Stones in His Pockets
  • Sean Campion – Stones in His Pockets
  • Michael Gambon – The Caretaker
  • Bill Nighy – Blue/Orange
  • Simon Russell Beale – Hamlet

• 2002: Roger Allam – Privates on Parade
  • Sean Foley – The Play What I Wrote
  • Hamish McColl – The Play What I Wrote
  • Alan Rickman – Private Lives
  • Simon Russell Beale – Humble Boy

• 2003: Simon Russell Beale – Uncle Vanya
  • Michael Gambon – A Number
  • Mark Rylance – Twelfth Night
  • David Tennant – Lobby Hero

• 2004: Matthew Kelly – Of Mice and Men
  • Roger Allam – Democracy
  • Kenneth Branagh – Edmond
  • Greg Hicks – Coriolanus
  • Michael Sheen – Caligula

• 2005: Richard Griffiths – The History Boys
  • Michael Gambon – Endgame
  • Jonathan Pryce – The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?
  • Ben Whishaw – Hamlet

• 2006: Brian Dennehy – Death of a Salesman
  • Richard Griffiths – Heroes
  • Derek Jacobi – Don Carlos
  • Con O'Neill – Telstar
  • Michael Sheen – Someone Who'll Watch Over Me

• 2007: Rufus Sewell – Rock 'n' Roll
  • Iain Glen – The Crucible
  • David Haig – Donkeys' Years
  • Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon
  • Michael Sheen – Frost/Nixon

• 2008: Chiwetel Ejiofor – Othello
  • Ian McKellen – King Lear
  • Mark Rylance – Boeing Boeing
  • John Simm – Elling
  • Patrick Stewart – Macbeth

• 2009: Derek Jacobi – Twelfth Night
  • David Bradley – No Man's Land
  • Michael Gambon – No Man's Land
  • Adam Godley – Rain Man

See also

• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play
• Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play

References

• London Theatre Guide (2008) (.PDF). The Laurence Olivier Awards: Play - Best New Play. 1976-2008. The Society of London Theatre. pp. pp 4. http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/servlet/file/LOA_fullist.pdf?ITEM_ENT_ID=101095&ITEM_VERSION=1&COLLSPEC_ENT_ID=8. Retrieved 2008-08-30. 

External links

• The Laurence Olivier Awards official website