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.
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.
^Johnson, The Rt Hon Boris, MP (2020-03-23). Prime Minister's statement on coronavirus (COVID-19): 23 March 2020 [transcript] (Speech). Prime Minister's Televised Speech to the United Kingdom. www.gov.uk. London, UK. Archived from the original on 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2022-04-25. From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction — you must stay at home.{{cite speech}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^McPhee, Ryan (2021-06-14). "U.K. Postpones Reopening Roadmap; West End Theatres Will No Longer Reopen in Full in June". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2021-06-14. Retrieved 2022-04-25. Step 4 of the roadmap will allow productions to play without capacity restrictions. June 21 was the goal; now, the government is eyeing July 19.
^Thomas, Sophie (2022-03-08). "Everything you need to know about the Olivier Awards". londontheatre.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2022-04-11. Retrieved 2022-04-25. Any new production that opened between 19 Feb. 2020 to 22 Feb. 2022 are eligible for categories in the 2022 Olivier Awards. With two years worth of shows set for honours in one year's ceremony, the 2022 Olivier Awards will prove tougher competition than before.
London Theatre Guide (2008). "The Laurence Olivier Awards: Full List of Winners, 1976-2008" (PDF). 1976-2008. The Society of London Theatre. p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2008-08-30.