Overview
- John Lithgow won the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play at the ceremony Sunday for his portrayal of Roald Dahl in Mark Rosenblatt’s Giant.
- At 80, Lithgow became the oldest man to win a competitive acting Tony and created a new record with a 53-year span between acting wins, the longest gap in Tony history.
- This is Lithgow’s third career Tony and his victories now span three separate competitive acting categories, placing him among a very small group of multi-category winners.
- Giant, directed by Nicholas Hytner and playing at the Music Box Theatre through June 28, dramatizes controversies over Dahl’s antisemitic comments and has a filmed West End capture slated for international theatrical release later in 2026.
- The ceremony also honored Laurie Metcalf with her third Tony and delivered major wins for Death of a Salesman and Schmigadoon!, shifting industry attention toward productions that confront fraught historical and cultural subjects.