John Lithgow Wins Best Actor at the UK Stage Olivier Awards

American actors John Lithgow took home the best actor trophy at the London stage Olivier Awards on Sunday for exploring the dark side of children’s writer Roald Dahl in ‘Giant.’ The star of Conclave and the future professor Dumbledore in the new HBO Harry Potter remake added the Olivier to an awards shelf that already includes multiple Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe trophies.

“I think I’m going to faint,” said an emotional Lithgow, 79. He said he wanted to assure Britons that the transatlantic ‘special relationship is still firmly intact.” “It’s not always easy to welcome an American into your midst, and at this particular moment, it’s probably a little more complicated than usual,” he said.

Backwards-biographical story “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” was named best new musical at the awards, Britain’s equivalent of Broadway’s Tony Awards.

Lesley Manville, whose resume includes a stint as Princess Margaret in “The Crown,” took the best actress prize for her performance as shocked royal spouse Jocasta in “Oedipus.” Director Robert Icke’s modern-day reimagining of the ancient Greek tragedy- which opens on Broadway later this year- was named revival of a play.

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Imelda Staunton – Queen Elizabeth II in two final seasons of “The Crown” – won the fifth Olivier of her career, best actress in a musical, for “Hello, Dolly!” Best actor in a musical went to John Dagleish as the titular man who ages in reverse in “Benjamin Button.” The musical is based on a story by F. Scott Fitzgerald that also inspired a 2008 movie starring Brad Pitt.

The Olivier Awards is particularly a star-studded occasion this year, after a number of Hollywood veterans received nominations. Hosted by Beverly Knight and Billy Porter at the Royal Albert Hall on April 6, the 2025 Olivier Awards celebrated the best of London’s West End.

The competition was of the highest caliber, with American actors Adrien Brody, John Lithgow and Billy Crudup battling it out in the Best Actor category against English stars Paapa Essiedu and Mark Strong. 

The Best Actress categories was equally as star-studded, with Imelda Staunton receiving a nod for her leading role in the musical Hello, Dolly! while Lesley Manville was nominated for an ‘explosive’ thriller retelling of Oedipus – in which she starred opposite Strong last year.

Stars in the audience included recent Academy Award winner Adrien Brody – a best-actor Olivier nominee for death-row stage drama “The Fear of 13” – and Cate Blanchett, recently seen on the London stage in “The Seagull.”