This Sunday, June 11 at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, the latest crop of theater’s best will claim trophies for their work on Broadway stages in 2016 and 2017. Ever wonder how such talented thespians get their big break? Below we’ve rounded up all the Tony Award nominees for actors in plays and their debuts on the Great White Way. Every successful actor’s gotta start somewhere—to make your big stage debut, check out Backstage’s Broadway casting listings, updated daily!
READ: ‘Great Comet,’ ‘Hello, Dolly!’ Top 71st Annual Tony Award Nominations
LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Cate Blanchett, “The Present”
Like an impressive number of actors on this list, Blanchett earned a Tony Award nomination for her Broadway debut this season. The magnetic star of “The Present” is a two-time Academy Award winner for her roles in “The Aviator” (2004) and “Blue Jasmine” (2013).
Jennifer Ehle, “Oslo”
Ehle made her Broadway debut in the 2000 revival of Tom Stoppard’s “The Real Thing” as Annie. She took home a Tony Award that year, then won another in 2007 for Stoppard’s “The Coast Of Utopia.” She returns to Broadway for the first time in a decade with “Oslo.”
Sally Field, “The Glass Menagerie”
Field is back on Broadway for the first time since making her debut in 2002 with “The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia,” where she replaced Mercedes Ruehl in the role of Stevie. And though her career on the Great White Way has been relatively short, Field has been entertaining us since 1962, when—according to IMDB—she played “Beatnik girl in lineup” in the film “Moon Pilot.”
Laura Linney, “Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes”
Four Tony nods and 25 years ago, Laura Linney made her Broadway debut in “The Seagull.” In the stage and screen star’s 11th Broadway show, she is nominated alongside co-star Cynthia Nixon. Both won Drama Desk Awards for their roles; at that ceremony, Nixon thanked Linney for wanting to alternate the roles in the first place.
Laurie Metcalf, “A Doll’s House, Part 2”
Metcalf made her Broadway debut in 1995’s “My Thing of Love” by Alexandra Gersten. But even before then, we saw the three-time Emmy winner regularly on television’s “Roseanne” from 1988–97. It wouldn’t be until 2008 that she would return to Broadway, with David Mamet’s “November.” The actor earns her fourth Tony nomination as Nora in “A Doll’s House, Part 2.”
LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Denis Arndt, “Heisenberg”
Don’t call it beginner’s luck! But in his Broadway debut starring opposite Mary Louise Parker in Simon Stephens’ two-hander, Arndt also scored a Tony Award nomination. Best known for television and film roles in “L.A. Law,” “Annie McGuire” and “Basic Instinct,” he made his on-screen debut in 1974 in the television series, “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color.”
Chris Cooper, “A Doll’s House, Part 2”
Cooper makes his return to Broadway in “A Doll’s House, Part 2,” after an almost 40 year absence. His Broadway debut was in 1980’s “Of The Fields, Lately” as Ben Mercer. Cooper also starred in the 2013 film adaptation of the Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning play “August: Osage County” and the 2010 film of “The Tempest.” If Cooper wins on Sunday, his first Tony will join a collection of honors that include an Oscar and Golden Globe for the 2002 film “Adaptation.”
Corey Hawkins, “Six Degrees of Separation”
Hawkins is back on Broadway following his debut in 2013’s revival of “Romeo And Juliet,” where he played Tybalt. The Juilliard-trained actor is probably best known for his roles on FOX’s “24: Legacy,” “The Walking Dead,” and the film “Straight Outta Compton.”
Kevin Kline, “Present Laughter”
Kline made his Broadway debut in 1973 in Chekhov’s “The Three Sisters,” where he played Vershinin. That was alongside fellow nominee this season Patti LuPone, who played the role of Irene. Both are founding members of the troupe The Acting Company. A win for Noel Coward’s “Present Laughter” would make lucky number three for Kline’s Tony Awards (1978’s “On the Twentieth Century” and 1981’s “The Pirates of Penzance”).
Jefferson Mays, “Oslo”
We last saw Mays on Broadway in the revival of “The Front Page” earlier this season. His role as real-life diplomat Terje Rød-Larsen in “Oslo” makes his third nod; Mays was also nominated in 2014 for “A Gentleman’s Guide To Love And Murder” and he won for 2003’s “I Am My Own Wife,” which doubled as his Broadway debut.
Cobie Smulders and Kevin Kline in “Present Laughter.” Photo by Joan Marcus.
The 2017 Tony Nominees: Actors in a Play
FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Johanna Day, “Sweat”
Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer-winning “Sweat” marks the fourth play on the Great White Way for Day, who plays Tracey. She made her Broadway debut in David Auburn’s “Proof,” which clinched her first of two Tony nods.
Jayne Houdyshell, “A Doll’s House, Part 2”
Last year’s Tony Award winner for featured actress in a play, Houdyshell made her Broadway debut in 2003 as a replacement for Madame Morrible in “Wicked,” though she had been performing for decades before coming to Broadway. Her first of four Tony nominations came in 2006 for Lisa Kron’s “Well.” “A Doll’s House, Part 2” marks her 10th Broadway show.
Cynthia Nixon, “Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes”
This Hellman revival is Nixon’s 13th Broadway production; she debuted in “The Philadelphia Story” in 1980 and won a Tony in 2006 for “Rabbit Hole.” The actor made Broadway history in 1984, when she starred in two Broadway plays at once: “The Real Thing” and “Hurlyburly.” Nixon is alternating roles again, as both Regina and Birdie in “The Little Foxes” opposite Linney; the latter role has earned her a fourth Tony nomination.
Condola Rashad, “A Doll’s House, Part 2”
With her fourth Broadway turn and third Tony nod, Rashad has an excellent track record. Back on Broadway with this Ibsen sequel, the actor made her nominated Broadway debut in 2011 in Lydia R. Diamond’s “Stick Fly” as Cheryl.
READ: How Condola Rashad Quietly Became One of Her Generation’s Finest Stage Actors
Michelle Wilson, “Sweat”
Wilson is Tony-nominated alongside her co-star Day in this season’s multi-nominated play “Sweat.” She made her Broadway debut in the 2014 revival of “A Raisin in the Sun” with Denzel Washington and Sophie Okonedo.
FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
Michael Aronov, “Oslo”
Aronov made his Broadway debut in 2013 in “Golden Boy” as Siggie. He’s earned critical acclaim and multiple nominations for his role in “Oslo,” including a Lucille Lortel Award, as Israeli diplomat and politician Uri Savir.
Danny DeVito, “Arthur Miller’s The Price”
At 72 years old, DeVito made his Broadway debut this year as the clever Gregory Solomon in Arthur Miller’s “The Price”! He also won the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for his performance. In 2012, the screen comedy legend made his West End debut in Neil Simon’s “The Sunshine Boys” alongside Richard Griffiths.
Nathan Lane, “The Front Page”
Lane doesn’t make his entrance in “The Front Page” until the end of Act 2. Nevertheless, his performance as Walter Burns has earned him his fifth Tony nomination. The star has two wins under his belt, for “The Producers” and “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum.” He made his Broadway debut in 1982 in Noel Coward’s “Present Laughter.” Born Joseph Lane, he changed his name to Nathan after Nathan Detroit in “Guys And Dolls,” which in turn became one of his most famous roles.
Richard Thomas, “Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes”
Thomas was just 12 years old when he made his Broadway debut in Eugene O’Neill’s “Strange Interludes.” After 13 Broadway roles and one famous 1970s series (“The Waltons”), he is starring as Horace Giddens in “The Little Foxes” and has earned his first, well-deserved Tony nomination.
John Douglas Thompson, “August Wilson’s Jitney”
Thompson made his Broadway debut in 2005 in “Julius Caesar” (a play he appears in again this summer in Shakespeare in the Park). For his role as Becker in August Wilson’s “Jitney,” he also won a New York Drama Critics’ Circle award and is nominated for his first Tony Award.
Check out Backstage’s Broadway audition listings!