Congratulations are in order for Daniel Radcliffe! The Tony Awards were held on Sunday night, and Dan won the award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for his performance in the revival of Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along. Like the class act that he is, Dan made a very gracious acceptance speech while wearing an amazing purple suit and bow tie. His speech was full of love and gratitude towards everyone. He thanked his director and castmates, as well as Merrily’s crew, band, the stage management team, and basically everyone who “makes the show happen every day.” He also gave special shoutouts to his parents and wife. It was one big lovefest! Dan had some really special words for his costars Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez, though, telling them that he’ll miss them when the show closes in July and declaring that he’ll “never have it this good again.” Awwww.
“I’m going to talk fast and try not to cry… I don’t even have to act in this show,” Radcliffe said in his acceptance speech, referring to his close friendship with his co-stars. “I will never have it this good again.”
“When I finished ‘Potter,’ I had no idea what my career was going to be,” Radcliffe said after accepting his award, according to a video recording posted to X by Deadline. “Playing one character for so long kind of builds up in you a desire to do as many things as you possibly can.”
The Stephen Sondheim musical was an infamous Broadway flop when it debuted in 1981, closing after just 16 performances. Three years after Sondheim’s death, the show was reworked by director Maria Friedman and helmed by an all-star trio, Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez and Radcliffe.
“Harry Potter is going to be the first line of my obituary,” Radcliffe, 34, told The Atlantic in April. “I wanted to try as many different things under my belt, knowing that it was going to be the accumulation of all of those things, rather than one thing, that would actually sort of transition me in people’s minds.”Following the eight-film “Potter” series, Radcliffe took on many stage and indie films opportunities.
He made his Broadway debut in 2008, starring in a revival of “Equus” that required him to perform nude. He sang on a Broadway stage for the first time in the 2011 revival of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”His other Broadway credits include “The Cripple of Inishmaan” and “The Lifespan of a Fact.”
Radcliffe has been a part of the “Merrily We Roll Along” cast since its off-Broadway run at the New York Theater Workshop. The production transferred to Broadway in October and is scheduled to close on July 7.
I’m so happy for him! I want nothing but great things for Dan. Like everyone else, I’ve watched him grow up and become a great actor who works really hard while also being a really decent human being. His speech was so sweet. You tell just how excited and grateful he really was to finally be recognized for his acting. Groff also finally won his first Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a musical and Dan rushed up to give him a giant hug as he was making his way on stage. As he points out, Harry Potter may be in the first line of Dan’s obituary, but it will now be preceded by the descriptor, “Tony Award Winner.” I hope one day, it reads “EGOT Winner” because I have a feeling this won’t be Dan’s last major acting award.
Daniel Radcliffe running across the audience to hug first-time Tony Award winner Jonathan Groff…okay I’m crying #TonyAwards pic.twitter.com/6mqKHK3gcS
— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) June 17, 2024
Photos credit: Janet Mayer/INSTARimages.com, Darla Khazei/INSTARimages
