| Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical | |
|---|---|
) 2019 Recipient: Santino Fontana for Tootsie | |
| Awarded for | Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical |
| Location | New York City |
| Presented by | American Theatre Wing The Broadway League |
| Currently held by | Santino Fontana for Tootsie (2019) |
| Website | TonyAwards.com |
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is awarded to the actor who was voted as the best actor in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival. The award has been given since 1948, but the nominees who did not win have only been publicly announced since 1956.
Winners and nominees
indicates the winner
1940s
| Year | Actor | Musical | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 1st Tony Awards | |||
| N/A | |||
| 1948 2nd Tony Awards | |||
| Paul Hartman | Angel in the Wings | Various Characters | |
| 1949 3rd Tony Awards | |||
| Ray Bolger | Where's Charley? | Charley Wykeham | |
1950s
| Year | Actor | Musical | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 4th Tony Awards | |||
| Ezio Pinza | South Pacific | Emile De Beque | |
| 1951 5th Tony Awards | |||
| Robert Alda | Guys and Dolls | Sky Masterson | |
| 1952 6th Tony Awards | |||
| Phil Silvers | Top Banana | Jerry Biffle | |
| 1953 7th Tony Awards | |||
| Thomas Mitchell | Hazel Flagg | Dr. Downer | |
| 1954 8th Tony Awards | |||
| Alfred Drake | Kismet | Hajj | |
| 1955 9th Tony Awards | |||
| Walter Slezak | Fanny | Panisse | |
| 1956 10th Tony Awards | |||
| Ray Walston | Damn Yankees | Mr. Applegate | |
| Stephen Douglass | Damn Yankees | Joe Hardy | |
| Bill Johnson | Pipe Dream | Doc | |
| 1957 11th Tony Awards | |||
| Rex Harrison | My Fair Lady | Henry Higgins | |
| Fernando Lamas | Happy Hunting | Duke of Granada | |
| Robert Weede | The Most Happy Fella | Tony | |
| 1958 12th Tony Awards | |||
| Robert Preston | The Music Man | Harold Hill | |
| Ricardo Montalbán | Jamaica | Koli | |
| Eddie Foy Jr. | Rumple | Rumple | |
| Tony Randall | Oh, Captain! | Captain Henry St. James | |
| 1959 13th Tony Awards | |||
| Richard Kiley | Redhead | Tom Baxter | |
| Larry Blyden | Flower Drum Song | Sammy Fong |
1960s
| Year | Actor | Musical | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 14th Tony Awards | |||
| Jackie Gleason | Take Me Along | Sid Davis | |
| Robert Morse | Take Me Along | Richard Miller | |
| Walter Pidgeon | Nat Miller | ||
| Andy Griffith | Destry Rides Again | Destry | |
| Anthony Perkins | Greenwillow | Gideon Briggs | |
| 1961 15th Tony Awards | |||
| Richard Burton | Camelot | Arthur | |
| Phil Silvers | Do Re Mi | Hubert Cram | |
| Maurice Evans | Tenderloin | Reverend Brock | |
| 1962 16th Tony Awards | |||
| Robert Morse | How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying | J. Pierrepont Finch | |
| Ray Bolger | All-American | Professor Fodorski | |
| Alfred Drake | Kean | Edmund Kean | |
| Richard Kiley | No Strings | David Jordan | |
| 1963 17th Tony Awards | |||
| Zero Mostel | A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | Pseudolus | |
| Sid Caesar | Little Me | Various Characters | |
| Anthony Newley | Stop the World – I Want to Get Off | Littlechap | |
| Clive Revill | Oliver! | Fagin | |
| 1964 18th Tony Awards | |||
| Bert Lahr | Foxy | Foxy | |
| Sydney Chaplin | Funny Girl | Nick Arnstein | |
| Bob Fosse | Pal Joey | Joey Evans | |
| Steve Lawrence | What Makes Sammy Run? | Sammy Glick | |
| 1965 19th Tony Awards | |||
| Zero Mostel | Fiddler on the Roof | Tevye | |
| Sammy Davis Jr. | Golden Boy | Joe Wellington | |
| Cyril Ritchard | The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd | Sir | |
| Tommy Steele | Half a Sixpence | Arthur Kipps | |
| 1966 20th Tony Awards | |||
| Richard Kiley | Man of La Mancha | Don Quixote / Cervantes | |
| Jack Cassidy | It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman | Max Mencken | |
| John Cullum | On a Clear Day You Can See Forever | Dr. Mark Bruckner | |
| Harry Secombe | Pickwick | Pickwick | |
| 1967 21st Tony Awards | |||
| Robert Preston | I Do! I Do! | Michael | |
| Alan Alda | The Apple Tree | Various Characters | |
| Jack Gilford | Cabaret | Herr Schultz | |
| Norman Wisdom | Walking Happy | Will Mossop | |
| 1968 22nd Tony Awards | |||
| Robert Goulet | The Happy Time | Jacques Bonnard | |
| Robert Hooks | Hallelujah, Baby! | Clem | |
| Tony Roberts | How Now, Dow Jones | Charley | |
| David Wayne | The Happy Time | Grandpere Bonnard | |
| 1969 23rd Tony Awards | |||
| Jerry Orbach | Promises, Promises | Chuck Baxter | |
| Herschel Bernardi | Zorba | Zorba | |
| Jack Cassidy | Maggie Flynn | The Clown | |
| Joel Grey | George M! | George M. Cohan |
1970s
1980s
| Year | Actor | Musical | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 34th Tony Awards | |||
| Jim Dale | Barnum | P. T. Barnum | |
| Gregory Hines | Comin' Uptown | Scrooge | |
| Mickey Rooney | Sugar Babies | Mickey | |
| Giorgio Tozzi | The Most Happy Fella | Tony | |
| 1981 35th Tony Awards | |||
| Kevin Kline | The Pirates of Penzance | The Pirate King | |
| Gregory Hines | Sophisticated Ladies | Performer | |
| George Rose | The Pirates of Penzance | Major-General | |
| Martin Vidnovic | Brigadoon | Tommy Albright | |
| 1982 36th Tony Awards | |||
| Ben Harney | Dreamgirls | Curtis Taylor Jr. | |
| Herschel Bernardi | Fiddler on the Roof | Tevye | |
| Victor Garber | Little Me | Various Characters | |
| Raul Julia | Nine | Guido Contini | |
| 1983 37th Tony Awards | |||
| Tommy Tune | My One and Only | Captain Billy Buck Chandler | |
| Al Green | Your Arms Too Short to Box with God | Performer | |
| George Hearn | A Doll's Life | Various Characters | |
| Michael V. Smartt | Porgy and Bess | Porgy | |
| 1984 38th Tony Awards | |||
| George Hearn | La Cage aux Folles | Albin | |
| Gene Barry | La Cage aux Folles | Georges | |
| Ron Moody | Oliver! | Fagin | |
| Mandy Patinkin | Sunday in the Park with George | Georges Seurat / George | |
| 1985 39th Tony Awards | N/A[1] | ||
| 1986 40th Tony Awards | |||
| George Rose | The Mystery of Edwin Drood | Mayor Thomas Sapsea / William Cartwright | |
| Don Correia | Singin' in the Rain | Don Lockwood | |
| Cleavant Derricks | Big Deal | Charley | |
| Maurice Hines | Uptown... It's Hot! | Performer | |
| 1987 41st Tony Awards | |||
| Robert Lindsay | Me and My Girl | Bill Snibson | |
| Roderick Cook | Oh, Coward! | Performer | |
| Terrence Mann | Les Misérables | Javert | |
| Colm Wilkinson | Jean Valjean | ||
| 1988 42nd Tony Awards | |||
| Michael Crawford | The Phantom of the Opera | The Phantom of the Opera | |
| Scott Bakula | Romance/Romance | Alfred Von Wilmers / Sam | |
| David Carroll | Chess | Anatoly Sergievsky | |
| Howard McGillin | Anything Goes | Billy Crocker | |
| 1989 43rd Tony Awards | |||
| Jason Alexander | Jerome Robbins' Broadway | Various Characters | |
| Gabriel Barre | Starmites | Trinkulus | |
| Brian Lane Green | Spacepunk | ||
| Robert La Fosse | Jerome Robbins' Broadway | Various Characters | |
1990s
2000s
2010s
| Year | Actor | Musical | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 64th Tony Awards | |||
| Douglas Hodge | La Cage aux Folles | Albin | |
| Kelsey Grammer | La Cage aux Folles | Georges | |
| Sean Hayes | Promises, Promises | Chuck Baxter | |
| Chad Kimball | Memphis | Huey Calhoun | |
| Sahr Ngaujah | Fela! | Fela Kuti | |
| 2011 65th Tony Awards | |||
| Norbert Leo Butz | Catch Me If You Can | Carl Hanratty | |
| Josh Gad | The Book of Mormon | Elder Cunningham | |
| Joshua Henry | The Scottsboro Boys | Haywood Patterson | |
| Andrew Rannells | The Book of Mormon | Elder Price | |
| Tony Sheldon | Priscilla, Queen of the Desert | Bernadette Bassenger | |
| 2012 66th Tony Awards | |||
| Steve Kazee | Once | Guy | |
| Danny Burstein | Follies | Buddy Plummer | |
| Jeremy Jordan | Newsies | Jack Kelly | |
| Norm Lewis | Porgy and Bess | Porgy | |
| Ron Raines | Follies | Ben Stone | |
| 2013 67th Tony Awards | |||
| Billy Porter | Kinky Boots | Lola / Simon | |
| Bertie Carvel | Matilda the Musical | Miss Trunchbull | |
| Santino Fontana | Cinderella | Prince Topher | |
| Rob McClure | Chaplin | Charlie Chaplin | |
| Stark Sands | Kinky Boots | Charlie Price | |
| 2014 68th Tony Awards | |||
| Neil Patrick Harris | Hedwig and the Angry Inch | Hedwig Schmidt | |
| Ramin Karimloo | Les Misérables | Jean Valjean | |
| Andy Karl | Rocky the Musical | Rocky Balboa | |
| Jefferson Mays | A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder | The D'Ysquith Family | |
| Bryce Pinkham | Monty Navarro | ||
| 2015 69th Tony Awards | |||
| Michael Cerveris | Fun Home | Bruce Bechdel | |
| Brian d'Arcy James | Something Rotten! | Nick Bottom | |
| Robert Fairchild | An American in Paris | Jerry Mulligan | |
| Ken Watanabe | The King and I | The King of Siam | |
| Tony Yazbeck | On the Town | Gabey | |
| 2016 70th Tony Awards | |||
| Leslie Odom Jr. | Hamilton | Aaron Burr | |
| Alex Brightman | School of Rock | Dewey Finn | |
| Danny Burstein | Fiddler on the Roof | Tevye | |
| Zachary Levi | She Loves Me | Georg Nowack | |
| Lin-Manuel Miranda | Hamilton | Alexander Hamilton | |
| 2017 71st Tony Awards | |||
| Ben Platt | Dear Evan Hansen | Evan Hansen | |
| Christian Borle | Falsettos | Marvin | |
| Josh Groban | Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 | Pierre Bezukhov | |
| Andy Karl | Groundhog Day | Phil Connors | |
| David Hyde Pierce | Hello, Dolly! | Horace Vandergelder | |
| 2018 72nd Tony Awards | |||
| Tony Shalhoub | The Band's Visit | Tewfiq Zakaria | |
| Harry Hadden-Paton | My Fair Lady | Henry Higgins | |
| Joshua Henry | Carousel | Billy Bigelow | |
| Ethan Slater | SpongeBob SquarePants | SpongeBob SquarePants | |
| 2019 73rd Tony Awards | |||
| Santino Fontana | Tootsie | Michael Dorsey / Dorothy Michaels | |
| Brooks Ashmanskas | The Prom | Barry Glickman | |
| Derrick Baskin | Ain’t Too Proud | Otis Williams | |
| Alex Brightman | Beetlejuice | Beetlejuice | |
| Damon Daunno | Oklahoma! | Curly McLain |
2020s
| Year | Actor | Musical | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 74th Tony Awards | Aaron Tveit | Moulin Rouge! The Musical | Christian |
Award records
Multiple wins
- 2 Wins
- Norbert Leo Butz
- John Cullum
- Richard Kiley
- Nathan Lane
- Zero Mostel
- James Naughton
- Robert Preston
- George Rose
- Phil Silvers
Multiple nominations
Multiple character wins
- 3 Wins
- Pseudolus from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
- 2 Wins
- Albin from La Cage aux Folles
- Emile de Becque from South Pacific
- J. Pierrepont Finch from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying