John Lithgow has proven that age is just a number!
On Sunday, June 7, the veteran American actor made history by shattering a major record at the 2026 Tony Awards, held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
The Interstellar actor, who was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for his commendable performance in Mark Rosenblatt’s play, Giant, won the award and created history as the oldest man to ever win a competitive acting Tony Award.
The record was previously held by Roy Dotrice at 77, for featured actor in a play in the 2000’s A Moon for the Misbegotten.
“Uh, the other gentlemen in my category, you’re all marvelous actors. You all deserve this. I got it,” said the Dexter actor as he began his winning speech.
He continued, “Because I played the lead role in an extraordinary play, Giant… A stunning play made by a bunch of people full of love and kindness, but it’s a play about cruelty in a cruel age. And it’s an extraordinarily important play of this moment.”
“I thank my family, especially my wife Mary, who has seen me through two exhilarating but exhausting years bringing this incredible play to Broadway and to this evening. I’m such a lucky actor and this is my my third Tony Award,” Lithgow added.
Notably, the accolade marked John Lithgow’s third Tony win and first after 53 years, making it the longest gap between competitive acting Tony wins in the awards’ history.
