John Lithgow made history at the 2026 Tony Awards, becoming the oldest male actor to win a Tony Award at the age of 80.
Lithgow won the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as children’s author Roald Dahl in “Giant.”
“Oh my god, this is amazing,” he began his emotional acceptance speech Sunday night on stage at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall.
Lithgow gave a shoutout to the other nominees in the category, Will Harrison, Nathan Lane, Daniel Radcliffe and Mark Strong, before giving a glowing review of “Giant,” calling it “an extraordinary play” “made by people filled with love and kindness.”
The legendary actor also said he felt “lucky” because, along with Giant, he won his first Tony Award 53 years ago for his performance in The Changing Room at London’s Royal Court Theatre.
“There are two bookends of Tony, and there were 53 years between them,” Lithgow said, fighting back tears.
“During that time, I have worked with hundreds of amazing theater artists and had dozens of ecstatic moments on stage in the theater.
“But I have to say, this has got to be one of the best moments,” Lithgow added, as the audience cheered.
Although currently held by Lithgow, the record for the oldest person to win a Tony acting competition was previously set in 2000 by Roy Dotrice, who won the Best Actor award at the age of 77 for The Deadly Moon. Dotrice passed away in 2017 at the age of 94.
Lithgow has won three Tony Awards, the second time in 2002 for “The Sweet Smell of Success.” He has been nominated four other times: in 1985, 1988, 2005, and 2012.
In “Giant,” Lithgow plays Dahl in the 1980s, when the British writer faced backlash for anti-Semitic comments.
The play premiered in London in 2024 and won three Laurence Olivier Awards, including Best New Play for Lithgow and Best Actor.
The Broadway production of “Giant” opened in March, with Elliott Levy, Rachel Sterling and Aya Cash joining Lithgow in reprising roles.
Giant, directed by two-time Tony Award winner Nicholas Hytner, will end its run on Broadway on June 28th.
Appearing on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on March 9, Lithgow explained how he feels the themes of “Giant” are relevant to today’s political climate.
“This is a piece of history. This is an investigation of its time. And as you can imagine, in this day and age, it’s very timely,” Lithgow said.
