Lesley Manville and John Lithgow proudly accepted the award for Best Actor and Actress at the 2025 Olivier Awards on Sunday night.
English actress Lesley, 69, received the coveted gong for her part in Oedipus at Wyndham’s Theatre.
Hollywood legend John Lithgow, 79, was handed the Best Actor award for his role in Giant.
Conclave star John plays Roald Dahl in Giant, a play which puts the author in the dock for his uncomfortable views.
Tearing up as he accepted the award, John said: ‘I’m going to faint. I can’t tell you how much this means to me. Giant is one of the best experiences I have ever had on stage.’
Mark Rosenblatt’s West End show Giant come out on top, sweeping the board with three impressive gongs including Best New Play.
Lesley Manville, 69, and John Lithgow, 79, proudly accepted the award for Best Actor and Actress at the 2025 Olivier Awards on Sunday night
English actress Lesley received the coveted gong for her part in Oedipus at Wyndham’s Theatre
Romola Garai, 42, who also stars in Giant, beamed as she posed with her Best Actress In A Supporting Role gong for her role in The Years
Mark Rosenblatt’s West End show Giant swept the board with three impressive gongs including Best New Play (pictured with Elizabeth Debicki and Ewan McGregor)
Giant received another win as Elliot Levey, 51, was awarded the Best Actor In A Supporting Role.
Romola Garai, 42, beamed as she posed with her Best Actress In A Supporting Role gong for her role in The Years.
Idris Elba proudly posed with winner Sam Grabiner after presenting him with a gong for Best New Production in an Affiliate Theatre for Boys On The Verge Of Tears.
Cate Blanchett and Tom Burke posed with Robert Icke after he accepted the award for Best Revival for Oedipus.
The Olivier Awards is a particularly star-studded occasion this year, after a number of Hollywood veterans received nominations.
Hosted by Beverley Knight and Billy Porter at the Royal Albert Hall on April 6, the glitzy awards celebrate the best of London’s West End.
Adrien Brody, John Lithgow and Billy Crudup battled it out in the Best Actor category against English stars Paapa Essiedu and Mark Strong.
Imelda Staunton received a nod for her leading role in the musical Hello, Dolly!
Hollywood legend John Lithgow was handed the Best Actor award for his role in Giant
Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell presented John’s coveted gong
Giant received another win as Elliot Levey, 51, was awarded the Best Actor In A Supporting Role
Conclave star John received an award for his portrayal of Roald Dahl in Giant, a play which puts the author in the dock for his uncomfortable views (pictured with Romola and Elliot)
Romola couldn’t wipe the smile off her face as she proudly posed with her award
She looked incredibly in a satin floral pink gown
Winners Elliot and Romola shared a sweet embrace in the winner’s room
She was presented with the award by Martin Freeman and Celia Imrie
Idris Elba proudly posed with winner Sam Grabiner after presenting him with a gong for Best New Production in an Affiliate Theatre for Boys On The Verge Of Tears
Robert Icke accepted the award for Best Revival for Oedipus (pictured with Cate Blanchett and Tom Burke)
The winner’s room saw the likes of Celia Imrie and Martin Freeman (pictured L-R)
Idris appeared in incredibly high spirits as he took his seat
He larked around and posed for some polaroids before heading back to his seat
Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell, who star in their new play Much Ado About Nothing together, reunited at the awards
Adrian was seen arm in arm with his supportive girlfriend Georgina Chapman after losing out on Best Actor
Adrian caught up with Ewan McGregor backstage
Dawn O’Porter and her Irish husband Chris O’Dowd took their seats
Other British stars up for stage gongs include Strictly’s Layton Williams, comedian Meera Syal and three-time Olivier Award winner Sharon D. Clarke.
Meanwhile the revival of Joseph Stein’s musical Fiddler On The Roof has garnered the most nods with 13 total nominations.
New productions Giant and The Years have tied for most nominated play with five nods each.
Manville and Strong have both been nominated for the top gongs for their roles in a retelling of the father-killing, mother-loving king of Thebes, Oedipus.
Conclave star Lithgow received his nod for his portrayal of Roald Dahl in Giant, a play which puts the author in the dock for his uncomfortable views.
The play examines the fallout from revolting anti-Semitic insinuations he made in 1983 in a review of a book – God Cried – by Tony Clifton and Catherine Leroy, about the bombing of Lebanon the previous year.
Meanwhile Brody’s nomination is for his role in The Fear Of 13, which ran at the Donmar Warehouse last year and is based on Nick Yarrow’s memoir about being incarcerated on death row in America for 22 years.
The Best Actress categories are equally as star-studded, with Imelda Staunton receiving a nod for her leading role in the musical Hello, Dolly!
Meanwhile Lesley Manville has been nominated for an ‘explosive’ thriller retelling of Oedipus – in which she starred opposite Strong last year
Hosts Beverley and Billy will be joined on stage by a star-studded line-up of presenters for various awards.
The stars presenting awards include Cate Blanchett, Naomi Campbell, Elizabeth Debicki, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Martin Freeman and Ewan McGregor.
Ahead of hosting the show, singer Beverley said: ‘What’s priceless to me is the joy, the sheer joy of being able to celebrate wonderful people and great talent.’
Her co-host and Cabaret star Billy added: ‘The celebration of theatre, the celebration of this community that’s unlike any other.’
ITV will air a highlights programme on Sunday featuring some of the awards and performances at 10.15pm on ITV1 and STV, before becoming available on ITVX.
One of the performance audiences are set to be treated to is from Les Miserables to celebrate the show’s 40th anniversary.
TikTok is also returning to host the Green Carpet coverage as the official mobile entertainment platform.
