Lesley Manville was the toast of Broadway at Sunday night’s Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday.
The British acting legend, 70, earned her first ever Tony Award for her Broadway debut, taking home the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play gong.
Lesley won for her role as Jocasta in Oedipus, which received seven Tony nominations, including Best Revival of a Play.
Lesley, who already boasts two Oliviers, seven BAFTA nods and an Oscar nomination, clinched the Tony over a formidable field of nominees, including Rose Byrne (Fallen Angels), Carrie Coon (Bug), Susannah Flood (Liberation), and Kelli O’Hara, (Fallen Angels).
The actor previously won an Olivier for the London run of the play and told the crowd during her acceptance speech: ‘I’m a bit overwhelmed, it was my first time on Broadway so this is such a big deal.’
‘Our genius director and writer Robert Icke took a 2,500 year–old play and brought it up to the present day with shocking, startling results,’ she shared.
Lesley Manville was the toast of Broadway at Sunday night’s Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday
The British acting legend, 70, earned her first Tony Award for her Broadway debut, taking home the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role gong, presented by Annette Bening
‘And it was an extraordinary thing to do every night. But really shocking, how little has changed in those two and a half 1,000 years for women. Been very slow,’ she added.
It was a whirlwind of a weekend for the actress, who told BroadwayWorld on the red carpet that she was ‘onstage in London last night, closing Les Liaisons Dangereuses.’
Starring opposite Aidan Turner (Rivals) in Christopher Hampton’s adaptation at the Lyttelton Theatre, Lesley took her final bow in London on Saturday before jetting to New York.
‘I flew this morning,’ she explained. ‘It’s 11 at night [right now in London], and I’ve been up since 4.’
Rising above the jet lag and demands of her punishing schedule, the acting icon looked stunning in a shimmering orange gown for her big night, even doing her own makeup to complete the flawless red carpet look.
Elsewhere at the Tonys, John Lithgow made history at 80 as he became the oldest winner in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category.
The victory marked his third Tony Award, and this time he took home the trophy for his captivating portrayal of Roald Dahl in Mark Rosenblatt’s play Giant.
The actor previously won an Olivier for the London run of the play and told the crowd during her speech: ‘I’m a bit overwhelmed, it was my first time on Broadway so this is such a big deal’
The actress pictured as Jocasta alongside Mark Strong in Oedipus
Elsewhere at the Tonys, John Lithgow made history at 80 as he became the oldest winner in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category
He triumphed over a stacked category of heavyweights, beating out Harry Potter alum Daniel Radcliffe (Every Brilliant Thing), Will Harrison (Punch), Nathan Lane (Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman), and Mark Strong (Oedipus).
The victory came a staggering 53 years after his very first Tony win.
And it was a massive night for Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, which emerged as the evening’s biggest victor by sweeping the board with six wins.
The Lost Boys, Ragtime, and Schmigadoon! followed closely behind with four awards each.