Are you as dazzled as we are by this year’s Tony-nominated actors? Ever wonder where Broadway’s greatest got their big break? Below we’ve rounded up all of the Tony Award nominees for actors in straight plays this 2017–18 season, as well as their debuts on the Great White Way. Everyone has to start somewhere, after all. (And if you’d like to be on this list next year, check out Backstage’s Broadway casting listings, updated daily!)
LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Andrew Garfield, “Angels in America”
Garfield returns to Broadway as Prior Walter in the first Broadway revival of Tony Kushner’s “Angels In America,” leading both “Millennium Approaches” and “Perestroika.” The actor transferred with the Olivier Award-winning 2017 West End Production directed by Marianne Elliott. Back in 2012, he made his Broadway debut playing Biff Loman in Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” opposite the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. The role also garnered him a Tony Award nomination, giving him a perfect track record!
Tom Hollander, “Travesties”
Hollander is back on the boards for the first time in 20 years as Henry Carr in Tom Stoppard’s “Travesties.” The play was last on Broadway when it opened in 1975. Hollander was previously seen making his Broadway debut in David Hare’s 1998 play about Oscar Wilde, “The Judas Kiss,” as Lord Alfred Douglas. Hollander has earned his first Tony nomination for “Travesties,” and is also nominated for Drama Desk, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle awards.
Jamie Parker, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”
Parker made his Broadway debut more than a decade ago in Alan Bennett’s Tony-winning “The History Boys.” Since then he’s performed everything from Stoppard to Tennessee Williams in his native U.K. In addition to this first Tony nod, Parker recently won an Olivier Award for his work in the title role of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”
Mark Rylance, “Farinelli and the King”
Rylance’s Broadway tenure has been a feat of numbers. In the four seasons preceding his run in “Farinelli and the King,” he won three Tony Awards. The only Broadway show for which he did not receive a nomination was 2010’s “La Bête.” His debut on the Great White Way was in the revival of Marc Camoletti’s “Boeing-Boeing” in 2008, in which he played Robert and took home his first Tony. This nomination for Claire Van Kampen’s “Farinelli and the King” is his fifth nomination, for his role as King Philip V of Spain.
Denzel Washington, “The Iceman Cometh”
Eugene O’Neill’s “The Iceman Cometh” is Washington’s fifth Broadway production. He made his Broadway debut in 1988 in Ron Milner’s comedy “Checkmates.” That role preceded Washington’s first Academy Award win for the film “Glory” in 1989. This is his second Tony nod; his first was August Wilson’s “Fences” in 2010.
LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Glenda Jackson, “Three Tall Women”
Jackson made her Broadway debut more than 50 years ago—1965!—in a play with a very long title: “The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat As Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade.” The two-time Oscar winner’s nomination for Edward Albee’s “Three Tall Women” is her fifth nod from the Tony Awards, and her first Broadway production in decades. During that time Jackson left acting behind to work in politics in the U.K. as a member of Parliament.
Condola Rashad, “Saint Joan”
Following last year’s Tony nod for Lucas Hnath’s “A Doll’s House, Part 2,” Condola Rashad is already back on Broadway in the revival of George Bernard Shaw’s “Saint Joan.” Rashad made her Broadway debut in 2011 in Lydia R. Diamond’s “Stick Fly” as Cheryl. For her role in “Saint Joan,” Rashad takes her fourth Tony nomination, and this is her first nod in the leading actress category.
Lauren Ridloff, “Children of a Lesser God”
Ridloff makes her Broadway debut as Sarah Norman in the first Broadway revival of the Tony-winning play “Children of a Lesser God.” (In the original 1980 production, Phyllis Frelich won the Tony; in the 1986 film Marlee Matlin won an Oscar!) Ridloff is also the first Miss Deaf America title winner who is both of African-American and Mexican descent.
Amy Schumer, “Meteor Shower”
Known for her Emmy-winning television series “Inside Amy Schumer” and hit movie “Trainwreck,” Amy Schumer made her Broadway debut this fall in Steve Martin’s “Meteor Shower” in the lead role of Corky. This was also Martin’s debut as a Broadway playwright; his work was last seen on the boards in 2016’s musical “Bright Star.”
READ: Everything You Ever Need to Know About the Tony Awards
FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
Anthony Boyle, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”
Making a magical Broadway debut in both parts of “Cursed Child,” Boyle also starred in the production’s original London company and won an Olivier Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. Boyle received his training at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.
Michael Cera, “Lobby Hero”
Cera is growing up in his roles as he takes on the Kenneth Lonergan canon; he made his Broadway debut back in Lonergan’s 2014 drama “This Is Our Youth,” playing teen Warren Straub. Now he is back as twenty-something security guard Jeff in the playwright’s later work, “Lobby Hero.” With the role, he nabs his first Tony recognition. Next up, this fall, Cera will take on Lonergan’s “The Waverly Gallery,” playing Don Bowman.
Brian Tyree Henry, “Lobby Hero”
The multi-talented Henry made his musical Broadway debut in the original cast of “The Book Of Mormon” in 2011. He returns to the boards several years later opposite Chris Evans, Bel Powley, and fellow Tony nominee Michael Cera. A graduate of Morehouse College and the Yale School of Drama, Henry can also be seen on FX’s “Atlanta.”
Nathan Lane, “Angels in America”
Lane is still front page news after starring in last season’s revival of “The Front Page” as Walter Burns. Now playing Roy Cohn in the record-breaking revival of “Angels In America,” the actor receives his sixth Tony nomination; he already has two wins for “The Producers” and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” Lane made his Broadway debut in 1982 in Noel Coward’s “Present Laughter.”
David Morse, “The Iceman Cometh”
More than 20 years after making his Broadway debut, David Morse is recognized with his first Tony nod. Morse broke onto the scene in Budd Schulberg’s “On The Waterfront” in 1994 as Father Barry; his co-star was soon-to-be “Sopranos” star James Gandolfini. You can also catch Morse in the NBC series “Blindspot.”
FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Susan Brown, “Angels in America”
The impressive Brown hits the ground running in her Broadway debut. She plays a whopping six different roles between “Millennium Approaches” and “Perestroika.” Brown has many other credits from London’s National Theatre, the original home of this “Angels in America.” And her TV roles include playing Septa Mordane in early episodes of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”
Noma Dumezweni, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”
In the much anticipated “Cursed Child,” Dumezweni is casting quite a spell on audiences in her role as Hermione Granger. This is her Broadway debut, but Dumezweni is no stranger to the British stage. She won an Olivier Award for her role in “A Raisin in the Sun” in the West End. In addition to her Olivier for her work as Hermione, she also has picked up Drama League and Theatre World Award recognition.
Deborah Findlay, “The Children”
Findlay is back on Broadway for the first time in more than two decades; she made her debut as Hilda in Pam Gem’s “Stanley” in 1997. For her return in Lucy Kirkwood’s “The Children,” Findlay’s Hazel earned a first Tony nod. The U.K.-based actor previously won an Outer Critics Circle and an Olivier for “Stanley.”
Denise Gough, “Angels in America”
For her role as drug-addicted housewife Harper in this acclaimed revival of “Angels in America,” Gough picks up her first Tony nomination—and surely not her last. She makes her Broadway debut with the production after winning an Olivier and transferring with it from the West End’s National Theatre. Earlier this season, Gough also starred in “People, Places & Things” at St. Ann’s Warehouse.
Laurie Metcalf, “Three Tall Women”
Fresh from her first Academy Award nomination for Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird,” Metcalf returns to Broadway in Albee’s tour de force “Three Tall Women.” This follows her Tony win last season for “A Doll’s House, Part 2.” Metcalf made her Broadway debut in 1995’s “My Thing of Love” by Alexandra Gersten. Even earlier, she was a regular on TV’s “Roseanne” from 1988 to 1997, and now is back with its series reboot. Counting “Three Tall Women,” Metcalf now has five Tony nominations to her name.
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