| Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor | |
| Awarded For: | Best Actor in a Play |
| Presenter: | Society of London Theatre |
| Year: | 1985 |
| Holder: | Mark Gatiss for The Motive and the Cue (2024) |
The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Play is 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.
This award was introduced in 1985, as Actor of the Year, then retitled to its current name for the 1993 ceremony. Prior to this award, from 1976 to 1984 (and again in 1988), there was a pair of awards given each year for this general category, one for Actor of the Year in a New Play and the other for Actor of the Year in a Revival.
| Year | Actor | Play | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | |||
| Antony Sher | Richard III and Torch Song Trilogy | Richard III of England / Arnold Beckoff | |
| Alun Armstrong | The Crucible and The Winter's Tale | John Proctor / Leontes | |
| Kenneth Branagh | Henry V | Henry V of England | |
| Anthony Hopkins | Pravda | Lambert Le Roux | |
| 1986 | |||
| Albert Finney | Orphans | Harold | |
| Derek Jacobi | Breaking the Code | Alan Turing | |
| Ian McKellen | The Cherry Orchard | Lopakhin | |
| Martin Sheen | The Normal Heart | Ned Weeks | |
| 1987 | |||
| Michael Gambon | A View from the Bridge | Eddie Carbone | |
| Tokusaburo Arashi | Medea | Medea | |
| Hugh Quarshie | The Two Noble Kinsmen, The Great White Hope and The Rover | Arcite / Jack Jefferson / Belville | |
| Nicholas Woodeson | Sarcophagus and Flight | Bessmertny / Mike Levine | |
| 1989/90 | |||
| Oliver Ford Davies | Racing Demon | The Rev. Lionel Espy | |
| Nigel Hawthorne | Shadowlands | Lewis | |
| Ian McKellen | Othello and Bent | Iago / Max | |
| Michael Pennington | The Wars of the Roses | Various Characters |
| Year | Actor | Play | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | |||
| Andrew Scott | Present Laughter | Garry Essendine | |
| Toby Jones | Uncle Vanya | Uncle Vanya | |
| James McAvoy | Cyrano de Bergerac | Cyrano de Bergerac | |
| Wendell Pierce | Death of a Salesman | Willy Loman | |
| 2021 | Not presented due to extended closing of theatre productions during COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 2022 | |||
| Hiran Abeysekera | Life of Pi | Pi Patel | |
| Ben Daniels | The Normal Heart | Ned Weeks | |
| Omari Douglas | Constellations | Manuel | |
| Charles Edwards | Best of Enemies | Gore Vidal | |
| 2023 | |||
| Paul Mescal | A Streetcar Named Desire | Stanley Kowalski | |
| Tom Hollander | Patriots | Berezovsky | |
| Rafe Spall | To Kill a Mockingbird | Atticus Finch | |
| David Tennant | Good | John Halder | |
| Giles Terera | Blues for an Alabama Sky | Guy Jacobs | |
| 2024 | |||
| Mark Gatiss | The Motive and the Cue | Sir John Gielgud | |
| Dear England | Gareth Southgate | ||
| A Little Life | Jude St Francis | ||
| Vanya | All characters | ||
| Macbeth | |||
Note: The below awards and nominations include individuals awarded and nominated under the now-defunct categories Actor of the Year in a New Play and Actor of the Year in a Revival as well as the current combined Best Actor category.