John Lithgow has set an all-time record at the 2026 Tony Awards, becoming the oldest man to win a competitive acting Tony at age 80.
The veteran star reached the figure after winning the award for best leading actor in a play for his performance in Giant.
The previous record for oldest male acting winner was jointly held by the late Dick Latessa, who won by hairspray in 2003 at the age of 73, and André De Shields, who equaled that age with his 2019 victory with Hadestown.
De Shields, who also turns 80 this year, was nominated again at this year’s ceremony for his role as Old Deuteronomy in the revival. Cats: The jelly ballbut finally lost to The lost children star Ali Louis Bourzgui.
Lithgow’s acclaimed performance in Gianta gripping drama exploring author Roald Dahl’s anti-Semitism, also allowed him to break a second major record by opening the longest gap between Tony Awards for competitive acting in the history of the awards.
It’s been a staggering 53 years since his first win in 1973, when he took home the trophy for outstanding actor in a play for The locker room.
This extraordinary span surpasses the previous record of Angela Lansbury, who had a gap of 43 years between 1966 and 2009, surpassing her mark by a full decade and placing him well ahead of other theater icons such as Patti LuPone at 42 years and Frank Langella at 41 years.
The historic win marks the third Tony Award of Lithgow’s career, and came at the expense of a highly competitive field of nominees.
He took home the award over Nathan Lane, who was chasing his fourth career win for Death of a salesmanas well as fellow nominees Mark Strong in OedipusDaniel Radcliffe in Every shiny thingand Will Harrison in Punch.
Beyond the age and time records, this latest victory also pushes Lithgow into an elite club of just four artists who have managed to win in three completely different performance categories.
Having now won for a Featured Role in a Play, a Featured Musical Performance for Sweet smell of success in 2002, and in a leading role, she joins Kevin Kline and Boyd Gaines as winners of three categories, just behind Audra McDonald, who is the only artist to triumph in four different categories.
As he took the stage to accept his important trophy, the legendary actor expressed his immense gratitude for his long career.
He told the audience that he considers himself a lucky actor, noting the surprising coincidence that his first Tony 53 years ago was for his Broadway debut in an English play that originated at the Royal Court Theater in London, the exact same place where Giant began his journey.
Reflecting on having two Tonys with more than half a century between them, Lithgow shared that while he has worked with hundreds of fantastic theater artists and experienced dozens of moments of ecstasy on stage over the years, this current milestone has to be one of the best.
