Three's a charm: John Lithgow, Laurie Metcalf achieve Tony trifectas
Key takeaways
- Lithgow won best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play for his portrayal of the controversial, beloved British author Roald Dahl in Mark Rosenblatt’s poignant drama “Giant,” directed by Nicholas Hytner.
- He was in the running against Nathan Lane in the season’s most talk-about show’s “Death of a Salesman,” and many bets were surely placed on the latter to sweep.
- Lithogow is among a cadre of accomplished film and television actors who have a deep love of the stage.
John Lithgow accepts the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play award for Giant onstage during The 79th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Sunday. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions) By Jessica Gelt Arts Editor Follow June 7, 2026 6:31 PM PT 2 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X Linked In Threads Reddit Whats App Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
The 79th Tony Awards telecast kicked off with a bang by giving out two major awards in the first 30 minutes — and before viewers could blink both John Lithgow and Laurie Metcalf had each won the third Tony Award of their careers.
Lithgow won best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play for his portrayal of the controversial, beloved British author Roald Dahl in Mark Rosenblatt’s poignant drama “Giant,” directed by Nicholas Hytner. Times theater critic Charles McNulty called Lithgow’s performance “at once terrifying and never anything less than human,” and “one of the bravest” of the Broadway season.