{"id":2449564,"date":"2026-06-08T06:51:04","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T06:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2449564"},"modified":"2026-06-08T06:51:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T06:51:04","slug":"at-80-john-lithgow-makes-tony-history-as-oldest-male-acting-winner-and-sets-a-53-year-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/at-80-john-lithgow-makes-tony-history-as-oldest-male-acting-winner-and-sets-a-53-year-record\/","title":{"rendered":"At 80, John Lithgow Makes Tony History as Oldest Male Acting Winner and Sets a 53-Year Record"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">John Lithgow is only getting better with age.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">With <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/legit\/news\/tony-awards-winners-2026-full-list-1236765656\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:his latest Tony Awards win for actor in a play for \u201cGiant,\u201d;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;his latest Tony Awards win for actor in a play for \u201cGiant,\u201d&quot;}\" class=\"link \">his latest Tony Awards win for actor in a play for \u201cGiant,\u201d<\/a> Lithgow, 80, became the oldest man ever to win a competitive acting Tony. The record was previously held by Roy Dotrice at 77, for featured actor in a play in the 2000 \u201cA Moon for the Misbegotten,\u201d followed by two veteran performers. The late Dick Latessa won featured actor in a musical for \u201cHairspray\u201d in 2003 at 73, while Andr\u00e9 De Shields tied it in 2019 for \u201cHadestown.\u201d De Shields, himself 80 this year, was nominated again tonight in the featured actor in a musical category for his turn as Old Deuteronomy in the revival \u201cCats: The Jellicle Ball,\u201d but lost to Ali Louis Bourzgui from \u201cThe Lost Boys.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>More from Variety<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In \u201cGiant,\u201d a drama about Roald Dahl\u2019s antisemitism, Lithgow also opened the longest gap between competitive acting Tony wins in the awards\u2019 history at 53 years. His first came in 1973, for featured actor in a play in \u201cThe Changing Room,\u201d a span that surpasses Angela Lansbury\u2019s previous mark of 43 years \u2014 1966 to 2009 \u2014 by a full decade, with Patti LuPone (42 years) and Frank Langella (41) close behind.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It was Lithgow\u2019s third career Tony, and it came at the expense of Nathan Lane, who was chasing a fourth of his own for \u201cDeath of a Salesman,\u201d alongside fellow nominees Mark Strong (\u201cOedipus\u201d), Daniel Radcliffe (\u201cEvery Brilliant Thing\u201d) and Will Harrison (\u201cPunch\u201d).<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The victory also puts Lithgow in a rare club of four performers. With wins now for a featured play role (\u201cThe Changing Room\u201d), a leading musical turn (\u201cSweet Smell of Success,\u201d 2002) and a leading play performance (\u201cGiant\u201d), he is one of only four performers ever to win in three different acting categories \u2014 joining Kevin Kline and Boyd Gaines, also three-category winners, and Audra McDonald, the only performer to have triumphed in four.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cI\u2019m such a lucky actor. This is my third Tony Award. My first one was 53 years ago at my Broadway debut in the American premiere of an English play, which by an amazing coincidence originated at London\u2019s Royal Court Theatre, just like \u2018Giant,&#8217;\u201d Lithgow said while accepting the award. \u201cTwo Tony bookends with 53 years between them. In those years, I have worked with hundreds of just fantastic theatre artists. I\u2019ve had dozens and dozens of ecstatic moments on the stage, but I have to tell you right now, this moment has got to be one of the best.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-4\"\/>\n<h5 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">See all Tony Awards predictions<\/h5>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><span class=\"refer-link-wrapper lrv-a-font-primary-xs\"><br \/><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/tv\/articles\/emmy-predictions-2026-zendaya-noah-153000904.html\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Variety Awards Circuit: Tonys;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Variety Awards Circuit&quot;}\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">Variety Awards Circuit: Tonys<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-4\"\/>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>Best of Variety<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Sign up for <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cloud.email.variety.com\/signup\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Variety's Newsletter;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Variety's Newsletter&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Variety&#8217;s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/31XsHSx\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Facebook;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Facebook&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Facebook<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2TkcoeG\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Twitter;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Twitter&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Twitter<\/a>, and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2TntOHq\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Instagram;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Instagram&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>John Lithgow is only getting better with age. With his latest Tony Awards win for actor in a play for \u201cGiant,\u201d Lithgow, 80, became the oldest man ever to win a competitive acting Tony. The record was previously held by Roy Dotrice at 77, for featured actor in a play in the 2000 \u201cA Moon [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2449565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[481045,481048,401553,317656,398354,481047,352075,481046],"class_list":["post-2449564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-andre-de-shields","tag-de-shields","tag-frank-langella","tag-john-lithgow","tag-mark-strong","tag-roy-dotrice","tag-tony-awards","tag-veteran-performers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/At-80-John-Lithgow-Makes-Tony-History-as-Oldest-Male.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2449564"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2449566,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449564\/revisions\/2449566"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2449565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2449564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2449564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2449564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}