John Lithgow Makes History With Third Tony at 80

At the 2026 Tony Awards, 80-year-old John Lithgow won Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for Giant on Sunday, June 7, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City—his third Tony win and a competitive acting record as the oldest man to take t

John Lithgow stepped onto the Tony Awards carpet with his wife of more than 40 years, Mary Yeager, and by the time the night reached the biggest theater moment, he was already making history.

On Sunday, June 7, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, the 80-year-old actor won Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for his work in Giant. It was his third Tony win.

More than the trophy, though, was the record that came with it. Lithgow became the oldest man to win a competitive acting Tony award, surpassing Roy Dotrice, who previously held the distinction after winning Best Featured Actor in a Play for A Moon for the Misbegotten in 2000 at age 77.

Lithgow’s Tony story has been long and wide. He previously won Tonys for Best Featured Actor in a Play in 1973 for The Changing Room, and Best Leading Actor in a Musical in 2002 for Sweet Smell of Success. Along the way, he earned four other nominations.

When he accepted the honor, he turned quickly to the moment and the people in his category. “Uh, the other gentlemen in my category, you’re all marvelous actors. You all deserve this. I got it,” Lithgow said. “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.”.

He also spoke about the toll and the devotion of bringing the production to Broadway. “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. ” he said. “I’m such a lucky actor and this is my my third Tony Award. My 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’s Royal Court Theater. just like Giant.”.

Then he marked the stretch between those wins and the steadiness of his career. “Two Tony book ends with 53 years between them. In those years, I have worked with hundreds of just fantastic theater artists. I’ve had dozens and dozens of static ecstatic moments on stage,” Lithgow concluded. “But I have to tell you right now, this moment has got to be one of the best. Thank you all so much.”.

Giant, and the Broadway journey behind it, gave Lithgow the stage he’s spent decades building toward. On June 7, with the ceremony at Radio City Music Hall and his wife by his side on the carpet, he didn’t just win his third Tony—at 80, he set the new benchmark for competitive acting history.

John Lithgow Tony Awards 2026 Giant Radio City Music Hall Mary Yeager Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play oldest competitive Tony winner Roy Dotrice A Moon for the Misbegotten The Changing Room Sweet Smell of Success