John Lithgow, 80, made history at the 2026 Tony Awards by becoming the oldest winner in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category, taking home the trophy for his portrayal of Roald Dahl in Mark Rosenblatt’s play Giant. Lesley Manville, 70, captured Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for her role as Jocasta in Oedipus, amid a fiercely contested field.

Giant’s 53‑Year‑Old Journey from London to Broadway

According to the source, Lithgow’s victory came 53 years after his first Tony win in 1973 for The Changing Room. The play Giant had previously earned him an Olivier Award during its London run, underscoring the production’s transatlantic appeal. The story, directed by two‑time Tony winner Nicholas Hytner, dramatizes Dahl’s turbulent 1980s period when the author faced backlash over antisemitic comments. Lithgow’s acceptance speech highlighted the play’s dual nature : “a play about cruelty in a cruel age,” he said, while praising the “love and kindness” of the creative team.

Manville’s Jocasta Rewrites Classical Drama for a Modern Audience

Lesley Manville’s win for Oedipus followed a field that included Rose Byrne, Carrie Coon,Susannah Flood, and Kelli O’Hara. In her speech, she credited director and writer Robert Icke for bringing a 2,500‑year‑old play into the present day with “shocking, startling results.” The source notes that Oedipus was part of a broader trend of classical works being reimagined for contemporary theatergoers.

Other Big Names and Unexpected Upsets

The source lists Daniel Radcliffe (Every Brilliant Thing),Will Harrison (Punch), Nathan Lane (Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman), and Mark Strong (Oedipus) as strong competitors Lithgow beat. Meanwhile, Caissie Levy won Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for Ragtime, and Joshua Henry took the Actor award for the same musical. The evening’s biggest victor was Death of a Salesman, which swept six awards,with The Lost Boys, Ragtime, and Schmigadoon! each taking four.

Questions That Remain About the Night’s Outcomes

While the source reports the winners , it does not detail the voting margins or the criteria that tipped the scales in favor of Lithgow and Manville. It also leaves unanswered whether the producers of Giant and Oedipus had any influence on the nominations through lobbying or strategic campaigning. Finally, the source does not explain how the broader theater community reacted to the record‑setting age milestone for Lithgow, or whether this will affect future casting decisions for older atcors.