Andrew Garfield took home the Best Actor honor at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards in London on Sunday night (03Dec17).
The Amazing Spider-Man star was presented the prize by Ruth Negga for his lead role in the National Theatre’s revival of Angels in America. And when he took to the stage at Theatre Royal Drury Lane to collect the award, he thanked his ensemble cast, Rufus Norris, the Artistic Director of the National Theatre, and director Marianne Elliott.
“Oh dear. The only way I can stand here and hold this and take it home is if I know that it doesn’t belong to me at all,” he said. “That is literally the only way. It belongs to Rufus Norris, it belongs to the National Theatre, my home theatre, thankfully, it belongs to the most extraordinary group of actors I could ever wish to know, to work with, to share saliva, tears, blood and every other bodily liquid with.”
After his comments provoked laughter, he continued the joke by adding, “Real scoop: we’ve all f**ked… Only a few of us.”
The big winner of the night was Jez Butterworth’s latest play The Ferryman, which won three prizes, including Best Play, the Milton Shulman Award for Best Director for Sam Mendes, and the Emerging Talent Award for Tom Glynn-Carney.
Former Glee star Amber Riley took home the Best Musical Performance for her portrayal of Effie White in Dreamgirls, and she took to Instagram after the show to post a picture of her with the award.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcQ2-CXF2ct/?hl=en&taken-by=msamberpriley
“I started my year singing at the Evening Standard awards. I was terrified. In a room filled with people I had long admired,” she wrote in the caption. “A year later, I was nominated and then I won. My God is greater. Thank you Evening Standard. This will be a constant reminder to keep my dreams in front of me, to stay focused, and work harder!”
Glenda Jackson won the Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress for her gender-bending turn in William Shakespeare’s King Lear at the Old Vic, while Bat Out of Hell The Musical was voted the winner of the Evening Standard Radio 2 Audience Award for Best Musical.
