Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor

Evening Standard Theatre Award
for Best Actor

The 2022 recipient James McAvoy

Awarded for| Best Actor
Location|  United Kingdom
Presented by| Evening Standard
Currently held by| James McAvoy for Cyrano de Bergerac (2022)

The Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor is an annual award presented since 1955 by the Evening Standard in recognition of achievement in British theatre.

## Winners and nominees[edit]

### 1950s[edit]

Year  | Actor  | Work  | Character

|
|
|

1955
Richard Burton | Henry V | Henry V
1956
Paul Scofield | The Power and the Glory | The Priest
1957
Laurence Olivier | The Entertainer | Archie Rice
1958
Michael Redgrave | A Touch of the Sun | Philip Lester
1959
Eric Porter | Rosmersholm | John Rosmer

### 1960s[edit]

Year  | Actor  | Work  | Character

|
|
|

1960
Alec Guinness | Ross | T. E. Lawrence
Rex Harrison | Platonov | Mikhail Platonov
1961
Christopher Plummer | Becket | Henry II
1962
Paul Scofield | King Lear | King Lear
1963
Michael Redgrave | Uncle Vanya | Uncle Vanya
1964
Nicol Williamson | Inadmissible Evidence | Bill Maitland
1965
Ian Holm | Henry V | Henry V
1966
Albert Finney | A Flea in Her Ear | Victor Emmanuel Chandebise
1967
Laurence Olivier | Dance of Death | Edgar
1968
Alec McCowen | Hadrian VII | Frederick Rolfe
1969
Nicol Williamson | Hamlet | Hamlet

### 1970s[edit]

Year  | Actor  | Work  | Character

|
|
|

1970
John Gielgud | Home | Harry
Ralph Richardson | Jack
1971
Alan Bates | Butley | Ben Butley
1972
Laurence Olivier | Long Day's Journey into Night | James Tyrone
1973
Alec McCowen | The Misanthrope | Alceste
1974
John Wood | Travesties | Henry Carr
1975
John Gielgud | No Man's Land | Spooner
1976
Albert Finney | Tamburlaine the Great | Tamburlaine
1977
Donald Sinden | King Lear | King Lear
1978
Alan Howard | Coriolanus | Coriolanus
1979
Warren Mitchell | Death of a Salesman | Willy Loman

### 1980s[edit]

Year  | Actor  | Work  | Character

|
|
|

1980
Tom Courtenay | The Dresser | Norman
1981
Alan Howard | Good | John Halder
1982
Alec McCowen | The Portage to San Cristobal of A.H. | Adolf Hitler
1983
Derek Jacobi | Much Ado About Nothing | Benedick
1984
Ian McKellen | Coriolanus | Coriolanus
1985
Antony Sher | Richard III | Richard III
1986
Albert Finney | Orphans | Harold
1987
Michael Gambon | A View from the Bridge | Eddie Carbone
1988
Eric Porter | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Big Daddy
1989
Ian McKellen | Othello | Iago

### 1990s[edit]

Year  | Actor  | Work  | Character

|
|
|

1990
Richard Harris | Henry IV | Henry IV
1991
John Wood | King Lear | King Lear
1992
Nigel Hawthorne | The Madness of George III | George III
1993
Ian Holm | Moonlight | Andy
1994
Tom Courtenay | Moscow Stations | Venichka Yerofeev
1995
Michael Gambon | Volpone | Volpone
1996
Paul Scofield | John Gabriel Borkman | John Gabriel Borkman
1997
Ian Holm | King Lear | King Lear
1998
Kevin Spacey | The Iceman Cometh | Theodore "Hickey" Hickman
1999
Stephen Dillane | The Real Thing | Henry

### 2000s[edit]

Year  | Actor  | Work  | Character

|
|
|

2000
Simon Russell Beale | Hamlet | Prince Hamlet
2001

[1]

Alex Jennings | The Relapse and The Winter's Tale | Lord Foppington and Leontes
William Houston | Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2 and Henry V | Prince Hal and Henry V
Alan Rickman | Private Lives | Elyot Chase
2002

[2]

Simon Russell Beale | Twelfth Night and Uncle Vanya | Malvolio and Uncle Vanya
Daniel Craig | A Number | Bernard 1, Bernard 2, and Michael Black
Tom Georgeson | Frozen | Ralph Wantage
2003

[3]

Michael Sheen | Caligula | Caligula
Kenneth Branagh | Edmond | Edmond Burke
Warren Mitchell | The Price | Gregory Solomon
2004

[4][5]

Richard Griffiths | The History Boys | Douglas Hector
Douglas Hodge | Dumb Show | Barry
Stanley Townsend | Shining City | John
2005

[6][7]

Simon Russell Beale | The Philanthropist | Philip
Brian Dennehy | Death of a Salesman | Willy Loman
Derek Jacobi | Don Carlos | Philip II of Spain
2006

[8][9]

Rufus Sewell | Rock 'n' Roll | Jan
Bill Irwin | Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | George
Michael Sheen | Frost/Nixon | David Frost
Kevin Spacey | A Moon for the Misbegotten | Jim Tyrone
2007

[10][11]

Patrick Stewart | Macbeth | Macbeth
Charles Dance | Shadowlands | C.S. Lewis
Robert Lindsay | The Entertainer | Archie Rice
Mark Rylance | Boeing Boeing | Robert
2008

[12][13]

Chiwetel Ejiofor | Othello | Othello
Kenneth Branagh  | Ivanov | Ivanov
David Calder | King Lear | King Lear
2009

[14][15]

Mark Rylance | Jerusalem | Johnny "Rooster" Byron
Simon Russell Beale  | The Winter's Tale | Leontes
Ken Stott | A View from the Bridge | Eddie Carbone
Samuel West | ENRON | Jeffrey Skilling

### 2010s[edit]

Year  | Actor  | Work  | Character

|
|
|

2010

[16][17]

Rory Kinnear | Hamlet and Measure For Measure | Hamlet and Angelo
Roger Allam | Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 | Falstaff
David Suchet | All My Sons | Joe Keller
2011

[18][19]

Benedict Cumberbatch | Frankenstein | The Creature / Victor Frankenstein
Jonny Lee Miller
Bertie Carvel | Matilda the Musical | Miss Trunchbull
Charles Edwards | Much Ado About Nothing | Benedick
2012

[20][21]

Simon Russell Beale | Collaborators | Joseph Stalin
Charles Edwards  | The King's Speech and This House | George VI and Jack Weatherill
Adrian Lester | Red Velvet | Ira Aldridge
Luke Treadaway | The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time | Christopher Boone
2013

[22]

Rory Kinnear | Othello | Iago
Adrian Lester | Othello
Chiwetel Ejiofor | A Season in the Congo | Patrice Lumumba
2014

[23][24]

Tom Hiddleston | Coriolanus | Coriolanus
Ben Miles | Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies | Thomas Cromwell
Mark Strong | A View from the Bridge | Eddie Carbone
2015

[25][26]

James McAvoy | The Ruling Class | Jack Gurney
Kenneth Cranham | The Father | Andre
Ralph Fiennes | Man and Superman | Jack Tanner
Simon Russell Beale  | Temple | The Dean
2016

[27][28]

Ralph Fiennes | The Master Builder and Richard III | Halvard Solness and Richard III
Kenneth Branagh | The Entertainer | Archie Rice
O. T. Fagbenle | Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom | Levee
James McArdle | Platonov | Mikhail Platonov
Ian McKellen | No Man's Land | Spooner
2017

[29][30]

Andrew Garfield | Angels in America | Prior Walter
Bertie Carvel  | Ink | Rupert Murdoch
Andrew Scott | Hamlet | Hamlet
2018

[31][32]

Ralph Fiennes | Antony and Cleopatra | Mark Antony
Bryan Cranston | Network | Howard Beale
Ian McKellen | King Lear | King Lear
Colin Morgan | Translations | Owen
Kyle Soller | The Inheritance | Eric Glass
2019

[33][34]

Andrew Scott | Present Laughter | Garry Essendine
K. Todd Freeman | Downstate | Dee
Francis Guinan | Fred
Tom Hiddleston | Betrayal | Robert
Wendell Pierce | Death of a Salesman | Willy Loman

### 2020s[edit]

Year  | Actor  | Work  | Character

|
|
|

2022
James McAvoy | Cyrano de Bergerac | Cyrano
Paapa Essiedu | A Number | Various
Shubham Saraf | The Father and the Assassin | Nathuram Godse
Lennie James | A Number | Salter
Giles Terera | Blues for an Alabama Sky | Guy Jacobs

## Multiple awards and nominations[edit]

### Awards[edit]

4 wins

* Simon Russell Beale

3 wins

* Albert Finney
* Ian Holm
* Alec McCowen
* Laurence Olivier
* Paul Scofield

2 wins

* Tom Courtenay
* Ralph Fiennes
* Michael Gambon
* John Gielgud
* Alan Howard
* Rory Kinnear
* James McAvoy
* Ian McKellen
* Eric Porter
* Michael Redgrave
* Nicol Williamson
* John Wood

### Nominations[edit]

3 nominations

* Kenneth Branagh

2 nominations

* Bertie Carvel
* Charles Edwards
* James McAvoy
* Ian McKellen
* Simon Russell Beale

## See also[edit]

* Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor
* Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actor
* Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Evening Standard Theatre Award Nominations 2001". London Theatre Guide. 2016-06-08. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
2. ^ "Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2002 shortlist". www.standard.co.uk. 2012-04-13. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
3. ^ "Theatre Awards 2003 shortlist". www.standard.co.uk. 2012-04-10. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
4. ^ "Evening Standard Theatre Award Winners 2004". London Theatre Guide. 2016-06-08. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
5. ^ "Shortlist for 2004 Evening Standard Awards Announced". Broadway.com. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
6. ^ "Evening Standard Theatre Awards Winners 2005". London Theatre Guide. 2016-06-08. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
7. ^ "Shortlist for 2005 Evening Standard Awards Announced". Broadway.com. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
8. ^ Gans, Andrew (November 27, 2006). "2006 Evening Standard Award Winners Announced". Playbill. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
9. ^ "Evening Standard Theatre Awards shortlist 2006". London Theatre Guide. 2016-06-08. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
10. ^ "Hairspray, Macbeth Top 2007 Evening Standard Awards | TheaterMania". www.theatermania.com. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
11. ^ "Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2007: the shortlist". www.standard.co.uk. 2012-04-10. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
12. ^ "Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2008 Winners". London Theatre Guide. 2016-06-08. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
13. ^ "Donmar sweeps nominations in annual theatre awards". the Guardian. 2008-11-07. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
14. ^ "Winners of Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2009". www.standard.co.uk. 2012-04-10. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
15. ^ agencies, Staff and (2009-11-09). "Royal Court theatre celebrates 11 Evening Standard award nominations thanks to the success of Enron and Jerusalem". the Guardian. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
16. ^ "Rory Kinnear leads National's domination of London theatre awards". the Guardian. 2010-11-28. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
17. ^ "Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2010 shortlist revealed". www.standard.co.uk. 2012-04-10. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
18. ^ "Evening Standard theatre awards: pair win joint prize for Frankenstein roles". the Guardian. 2011-11-20. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
19. ^ "Evening Standard theatre awards shortlist unleashes a monster fight". the Guardian. 2011-11-07. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
20. ^ "Danny Boyle And Dame Judi Dench Triumph At Theatre Awards". HuffPost UK. 2012-11-26. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
21. ^ "Evening Standard theatre awards shortlist embraces young talent". the Guardian. 2012-11-12. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
22. ^ Reporter, Evening Standard (2013-11-18). "London Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2013: the winners and shortlist". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
23. ^ Vipers, Emma Powell, Gareth (2015-09-08). "ES Theatre Awards 2014: Hiddleston and Anderson win top awards". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-19.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
24. ^ Correspondent, Louise Jury, Chief Arts (2014-12-01). "London Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2014 shortlist announced". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-19.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
25. ^ Awards, Evening Standard Theatre (2015-11-23). "Evening Standard Theatre Awards: Who won and why". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
26. ^ "Evening Standard Theatre Awards – Shortlist of Nominees 2015 | WestEndTheatre.com". www.westendtheatre.com. 2015-11-02. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
27. ^ "Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2016: Who won and why". www.standard.co.uk. 2016-11-14. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
28. ^ Dex, Robert (2016-11-09). "Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2016: The shortlist". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
29. ^ Desk, Evening Standard Arts (2017-12-04). "Evening Standard Theatre Award judges on how they chose the winners". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
30. ^ Dex, Robert (2017-11-17). "Here's the shortlist for the 2017 Evening Standard Theatre Awards". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
31. ^ Thompson, Jessie (2018-11-19). "Find out the winners of this year's Evening Standard Theatre Awards". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
32. ^ "Read the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2018 shortlist in full". www.standard.co.uk. 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
33. ^ Paskett, Zoe (2019-11-25). "The 2019 Evening Standard Theatre Awards winners in full". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
34. ^ "The 2019 Evening Standard Theatre Awards shortlist in full". www.standard.co.uk. 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2021-04-19.

## External links[edit]

* Evening Standard Theatre Award Winners 1980-2003
* Evening Standard Theatre Awards 1955-2000