Hollywood actors Jude Law and Tom Hiddleston are to battle it out for the best actor gong at this year’s Olivier awards.This year’s Best Actor category is dominated by Shakespearean performances with Jude being nominated for his part in Henry V, Tom for his role in Coriolanus and Rory Kinnear for his performance in Othello.
However the big shock was that Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe was overlooked for his role as Cripple Billy in The Cripple of Inishmaan, despite having won Best Actor for his performance in the role at the What’sOnStage awards.
Screen favouriteDame Judi Dench also picked up a nomination for her role in Peter and Alice which she starred in alongside fellow Bond cast member Ben Whishaw.It has been a particularly strong year for musicals with Sam Mendes’ Charlie and the Chocolate factory and Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along picking up seven nominations, while The Book of Mormon, Once and The Scottsboro Boys each have six nominations.
The nominations were announced by actors Nigel Harman and Leigh Zimmerman on Monday in central London, revealing who will compete in the 26 categories which take in stage, opera and dance.
This year the organisers have brought back the best new comedy category which will be up for the taking by The Duck House, The Full Monty, Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense and The Same Deep Water As Me. They have also opened up the BBC Radio 2 audience award to the public, which allows them to vote for Matilda the Musical, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera and Wicked as they favourite West End long runner.
The ceremony will take place on 13 April at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden in Central London, with highlights being televised later that night.
