The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor is an annual award presented by The Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial British theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards in 1976, and, renamed in 1984 in honour of English actor Lord Olivier.
This list comprises the winners and nominees of the Best Actor category, winners shown in Bold
The award has been known by its current name of Best Actor since 1993, previously it was known as Actor of the Year.
From 1976-1984 and again in 1988, there were two Actor of the Year awards, one for Actor of the Year in a New Play and the other for Actor of the Year in a Revival.
Famous quotes containing the words award and/or actor:
“The award of a pure gold medal for poetry would flatter the recipient unduly: no poem ever attains such carat purity.”
—Robert Graves (1895–1985)
“The actor should not play a part. Like the Aeolian harps that used to be hung in the trees to be played only by the breeze, the actor should be an instrument played upon by the character he depicts.”
—Alla Nazimova (1879–1945)