John Lithgow Takes Home 2026 Tony for Best Actor in a Play for GIANT

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Lithgow has already received the Olivier Award for Best Actor for originating the role of Roald Dahl on London's West End.

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John Lithgow has won the 2026 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for his acclaimed performance as author Roald Dahl in the Broadway production of Giant .

Lithgow originated this role at London’s Royal Court Theatre and in the West End transfer at the Harold Pinter Theatre, earning the Olivier Award for Best Actor, while the production won Best New Play.

A two-time Tony Award winner, John Lithgow has earned acclaim for performances in The Changing Room, M. Butterfly, Requiem for a Heavyweight, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Sweet Smell of Success.

John Lithgow is one of America’s most celebrated stage actors, with a career spanning more than five decades and 25 Broadway productions.

Beyond the stage, Lithgow has received six Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Academy Award nominations. His notable screen credits include The World According to Garp, Conclave, The Rule of Jenny Pen, JIMPA, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Dexter, The Crown, and The Old Man. He will next appear as Albus Dumbledore in HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series.

A bestselling author and advocate for arts education, Lithgow has written numerous children’s books, earned four Grammy nominations for his recordings for young audiences, and appeared with major orchestras across the United States. He is also the author of the memoir Drama: An Actor’s Education and the bestselling political satire series known as the “Dumpty Trilogy.”

A world-famous children’s author under threat. A battle of wills in the wake of scandal. And one chance to make amends... It’s the summer of 1983, The Witches is about to hit the shelves and Roald Dahl is making last-minute edits. But the outcry at his recent, explicitly antisemitic article won’t die down. Across a single afternoon at his family home, and rocked by an unexpectedly explosive confrontation, Dahl is forced to choose: make a public apology or risk his name and reputation. Inspired by real events, Giant explores with dark humour the difference between considered opinion and dangerous rhetoric offering a complicated portrait of a fiendishly charismatic icon.

The Lost Boys

The Drama Bookshop is partnering with the Broadway production of GIANT to give students a free copy of Mark Rosenblatt's Tony-nominated play with a valid student ID, while supplies last.

The Authors Guild Foundation (AGF) will launch “Page to Stage”, an intimate salon series on bringing literary works and the figures behind them to the stage with bestselling author Harlan Coben in conversation with playwright Mark Rosenblatt.

Watch in this video as 2026 Tony Awards nominee John Lithgow chats more about seeing old friends, his giant journey with the company of Giant, and so much more.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/GIANTs-John-Lithgow-Wins-2026-Tony-Award-for-Best-Actor-in-a-Leading-Role-in-a-Play-20260607)._