| WhatsOnStage Award for Best Performer in a Male Identifying Role in a Play | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Excellence in a leading role in a play |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Presented by | WhatsOnStage.com |
| First awarded | 2001 |
| Currently held by | James McAvoy (2022) |
The WhatsOnStage Award for Best Performer in a Male Identifying Role in a Play is an annual award presented by WhatsOnStage.com as part of the annual WhatsOnStage Awards. Founded in 2001 as the Theatregoers' Choice Awards, the WhatsOnStage Awards are based on a popular vote recognising performers and productions in London's West End theatre.
This award is given to a person who has performed a leading male identifying role in a play during the eligibility year. Introduced in 2001 as the award for Best Actor in a Play, the category was renamed in 2022 in an effort to be more inclusive. The category was discontinued following the 2022 ceremony and was replaced with the gender-neutral WhatsOnstage Award for Best Performer in a Play.
First presented to Conleth Hill at the inaugural ceremony, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Spacey and David Tennant are the only actors to have won the award twice.
| Year | Performer | Play | Male Identifying Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020[20] | Andrew Scott | Present Laughter | |
| Tom Hiddleston | Betrayal | Robert | |
| Laurie Kynaston | The Son | Nicolas | |
| Wendell Pierce | Death of a Salesman | Willy Loman | |
| Matt Smith | Lungs | M | |
| 2021 | Not presented due to impact on theatres of COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 2022[21] | |||
| James McAvoy | Cyrano de Bergerac | Cyrano de Bergerac | |
| Richard Armitage | Uncle Vanya | dr Astrov (Mikhail Lvovich Astrov) | |
| Ben Daniels | The Normal Heart | Ned Weeks | |
| Omari Douglas | Constellations | Manuel | |
| Hadley Fraser | 2:22 A Ghost Story | Sam | |
| Henry Lewis | Magic Goes Wrong | Mind Mangler | |