The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role was an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards in 1976, and renamed in 1984 in honour of English actor and director Laurence Olivier.
| Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Best Performance in a Supporting Role |
| Location | England |
| Presented by | Society of London Theatre |
| First awarded | 1985 |
| Last awarded | 2012 |
| Website | officiallondontheatre |
This commingled actor/actress award was introduced in 1985, merging the preceding awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and Best Actress in a Supporting Role. However, this comingled award was suspended after its presentation in 1990; from 1991 to 2012, the supporting category vacillated at random between the commingled award (presented for 12 different seasons) and the original split pair of awards (presented for the other 11 seasons). The comingled Best Performance in a Supporting Role was last presented in 2012, and fully retired thereafter.
On the 16 occasions that this commingled award was given, it was presented six times to an actress and ten times to an actor.
Winners and nominees
edit1980s
edit1990s
edit| Year | Actor | Play | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | |||
| Simon Russell Beale | Volpone | Mosca | |
| Ben Chaplin | The Glass Menagerie | Tom Wingfield | |
| Geraldine McEwan | The Way of the World | Lady Wishfort | |
| Claire Skinner | The Glass Menagerie | Laura Wingfield | |
| 1998 | |||
| Sarah Woodward | Tom & Clem | Kitty | |
| Michael Bryant | King Lear | Lear's Fool | |
| Ronald Pickup | Amy's View | Frank Oddie | |
| Paul Rhys | King Lear | Edgar | |
| 1999 | |||
| Brendan Coyle | The Weir | Brendan | |
| Emma Fielding | The School for Scandal | Lady Teazle | |
| Adam Godley | Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick | Kenneth | |
| Michael Sheen | Amadeus | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
2000s
edit2010s
edit| Year | Actor | Play | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | |||
| Sheridan Smith | Flare Path | Doris, Countess Skriczevinsky | |
| Mark Addy | Collaborators | Vladimir | |
| Oliver Chris | One Man, Two Guvnors | Stanley Stubbers | |
| Johnny Flynn | Jerusalem | Lee | |
| Bryony Hannah | The Children's Hour | Mary Tilford |
See also
editReferences
edit- London Theatre Guide (2008). "The Laurence Olivier Awards: Full List of Winners, 1976-2008" (.PDF). 1976-2008. The Society of London Theatre. p. 20. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
