Jeremy Strong, 'Succession' star, takes home Tony for Best Actor

Jeremy Strong, renowned for his role in Succession, received his first 2024 Tony Award on Sunday evening.

He won the prestigious award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for his outstanding performance in An Enemy of the People.

Strong appeared genuinely surprised as he accepted the award on stage, expressing gratitude to the cast, crew, and theatre staff who contributed to the production's success.

“I want to thank the ushers and the front-of-house staff,” he said, receiving loud applause, “who see me walking in every day looking like I’ve just been run over by a truck and, and see me walk out looking somehow even worse with like bits of pretzels … in my hair.”

Strong played a small-town doctor in the revival of Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People. When he uncovered a catastrophic threat to the community, he spoke out. 

Still, his warnings were met with resistance and betrayal, even from his brother (Michael Imperioli), leading to a fierce battle against those in power.

Amy Herzog's adaptation of An Enemy of the People, directed by Sam Gold, earned a Tony nomination for Best Revival of a Play.

The actor, who stars in the production, thanked Herzog and Gold in his acceptance speech. He also shared a personal connection to Herzog, revealing that they first worked together on "The Great God Pan", where he met his future wife, Emma.

Addressing Gold, he added: “Thank you for being everything an actor could hope for and a director and for bringing new meaning to the term ‘ice bucket challenge.'”

The play, in which Strong's character hides under a bar throughout the performance and the cast practically throws ice at him, was alluded to in that sentence.

“This play is a cry from the heart and an exhortation to face up to the difficult truths that are staring us all down right now,” Strong added.