Lesley Manville and John Lithgow proudly accepted the award for Best Actor and Actress at the 2025 Olivier Awards on Sunday night.
English actress Lesley, 69, received the coveted gong for her part in Oedipus at Wyndham’s Theatre.
Hollywood legend John Lithgow, 79, was handed the Best Actor award for his role in Giant.
The Olivier Awards is a particularly star-studded occasion this year, after a number of Hollywood veterans received nominations.
Hosted by Beverley Knight and Billy Porter at the Royal Albert Hall on April 6, the glitzy awards celebrate the best of London’s West End.
Romola Garai, 42, beamed as she posed with her Best Actress In A Supporting Role gong for her role in Giant.
Giant received another win as Elliot Levey, 51, was awarded the Best Actor In A Supporting Role.
Lesley Manville, 69, and John Lithgow, 79, proudly accepted the award for Best Actor and Actress at the 2025 Olivier Awards on Sunday night
And the competition is of the highest calibre, with American actors Adrien Brody, John Lithgow and Billy Crudup set to battle it out in the Best Actor category against English stars Paapa Essiedu and Mark Strong.
The Best Actress categories are equally as star-studded, with Imelda Staunton receiving a nod for her leading role in the musical Hello, Dolly! while Lesley Manville has been nominated for an ‘explosive’ thriller retelling of Oedipus – in which she starred opposite Strong last year.
Meanwhile Mission Impossible star Indira Varma also received a Best Actress nod for her leading role in a classic adaptation of the Greek tragedy which opened in January – however her co-star Rami Malek was snubbed.
The Best Actress categories are equally as star-studded, with Imelda Staunton receiving a nod for her leading role in the musical Hello, Dolly!
Impressively, Atonement actress Romola Garai has been nominated twice in the same category for two separate plays; Giant and The Years.
Other British stars up for stage gongs include Strictly’s Layton Williams, comedian Meera Syal and three-time Olivier Award winner Sharon D. Clarke.
Meanwhile the revival of Joseph Stein’s musical Fiddler On The Roof has garnered the most nods with 13 total nominations.
New productions Giant and The Years have tied for most nominated play with five nods each.
Manville and Strong have both been nominated for the top gongs for their roles in a retelling of the father-killing, mother-loving king of Thebes, Oedipus.
Conclave star Lithgow received his nod for his portrayal of Roald Dahl in Giant, a play which puts the author in the dock for his uncomfortable views.
The play examines the fallout from revolting anti-Semitic insinuations he made in 1983 in a review of a book – God Cried – by Tony Clifton and Catherine Leroy, about the bombing of Lebanon the previous year.
Meanwhile Brody’s nomination is for his role in The Fear Of 13, which ran at the Donmar Warehouse last year and is based on Nick Yarrow’s memoir about being incarcerated on death row in America for 22 years.
Meanwhile Lesley Manville has been nominated for an ‘explosive’ thriller retelling of Oedipus – in which she starred opposite Strong last year
Conclave star Lithgow received his nod for his portrayal of Roald Dahl in Giant, a play which puts the author in the dock for his uncomfortable views
Hosts Beverley and Billy will be joined on stage by a star-studded line-up of presenters for various awards.
The stars presenting awards include Cate Blanchett, Naomi Campbell, Elizabeth Debicki, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Martin Freeman and Ewan McGregor.
Ahead of hosting the show, singer Beverley said: ‘What’s priceless to me is the joy, the sheer joy of being able to celebrate wonderful people and great talent.’
Her co-host and Cabaret star Billy added: ‘The celebration of theatre, the celebration of this community that’s unlike any other.’
ITV will air a highlights programme on Sunday featuring some of the awards and performances at 10.15pm on ITV1 and STV, before becoming available on ITVX.
One of the performance audiences are set to be treated to is from Les Miserables to celebrate the show’s 40th anniversary.
TikTok is also returning to host the Green Carpet coverage as the official mobile entertainment platform.
Read the full article here
