Simon Russell Beale Wins First Tony for The Lehman Trilogy

Simon Russell Beale earned his first Tony Award for his performance in The Lehman Trilogy, which also won Best Play, Best Direction, Best Scenic Design and Best Lighting Design. He won in the category of Best Leading Actor in a Play. The win was announced at the 2022 Tony Awards ceremony on June 12 at Radio City Music Hall. He beat out fellow nominees Adam Godley (The Lehman Trilogy), Adrian Lester (The Lehman Trilogy), David Morse (How I Learned To Drive), Sam Rockwell (American Buffalo), Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Lackawanna Blues) and David Threlfall (Hangmen).

"Thank you very much. This is an enormous honor. Adam, Adrian, I feel a little sheepish," Beale said. "I just want to say: we all did the exact same amount of work in this play. I take this accepted on your behalf. It's your award too—but I get to take it home with me."

This marks Beale’s first Tony win. He was previously nominated for his performance in Jumpers and also appeared on Broadway in Spamalot. Beale also earned an Olivier Award nomination for his performance in The Lehman Trilogy and has three Olivier Awards to his name for Volpone, Candide and Uncle Vanya.