Upstate New York’s John Lithgow Is Up For The “Best Actor” Tony

Denzel Washington once said "You don't learn how to act in movies. Movies are a filmmakers medium", and he's entirely correct.

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The stage is a different beast altogether for actors, and much more demanding, which is why it's such an honor for one of Upstate New York's own to be considered as the best stage actor of the year.

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Who is John Lithgow?

Born in Rochester, New York in 1945, Lithgow quickly established himself as a tour de force in the acting community. To this day, he has won two Tony awards, two Golden Globes, three Screen Actors Guild awards, an American Comedy award, a Laurence Olivier Award, four Drama Desk Awards, and was nominated for two Oscars.

He primarily works on the stage, but has had breakout film roles in Shrek, All That Jazz, Footloose, Interstellar, and Conclave. He won his two Tony awards for his work in his Broadway debut, The Changing Room (Best Featured Actor in a Play), and Sweet Smell of Success (Best Actor in a Musical).

Now, he's gunning for his third...

Giant

The Tony awards are coming up, and Lithgow has nabbed his eighth nomination, this time for Actor in a Leading Role in a Play. He gained the nomination for his role as Roald Dahl in Giant.

The play follows the beloved children's author's struggle with Antisemitism during the height of his career, and has been named the highlight of his career.

He is nominated alongside Will Harrison (Punch), Nathan Lane (Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman), Daniel Radcliffe (Every Brilliant Thing) and Mark Strong (Oedipus). The awards take place on Sunday, June 7th at Radio City Music Hall.