Chiwetel Ejiofor stole the limelight at the 2008 Laurence Olivier Awards last night, eclipsing two of Britain’s leading Shakespearean actors, Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart.

Ejiofor, 30, won Best Actor, the leading prize for a London stage performance, for his powerful portrayal of Othello, a role he had first played as a teenager with the National Youth Theatre. His co-star Ewan McGregor, as Iago, in last December’s acclaimed production at the Donmar Warehouse, had not even made the shortlist, and Ejiofor saw off competition from McKellen’s King Lear and the Macbeth of another veteran, Stewart, among other nominees.

Ejiofor’s win, at a ceremony at the Grosvenor House hotel in Central London, will come as no surprise to the critics who had been impressed by a performance that descended from majestic dignity to deluded rage. The Times had applauded his “very human Moor”, the Evening Standard called him “simply extraordinary” and The Daily Telegraph praised his “beautifully spoken, massively dignified Othello”.

Accepting the award, Ejiofor said that he was “honoured and humbled”. He dedicated the award to the memory of the late Edward Wilson, former artistic director of the National Youth Theatre, who died last month: “I was privileged to work with him. He enthused me with an incredible love for the theatre and Shakespeare which I carry through,” Ejiofor said. “This award is a testament to his dedication, his love and his legacy.”

The Best Actress award went to Kristin Scott Thomas, who made her name in Anthony Minghella’s Oscar-winning film The English Patient.

Described as the quintessential English heroine – aristocratic, formidable and hauntingly beautiful – she was singled out for her spellbinding performance as the diva Arkadina in The Seagullat the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court.

Having received a record-breaking 11 Olivier nominations, Hairspray, the high-spirited show based on John Waters’s 1988 cult film, won four awards, including Best New Musical, Best Actress in a Musical for the newcomer Leanne Jones, Best Actor in a Musical for Michael Ball and Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical for Tracie Bennett.

Jones, 22, from East London, is fresh out of drama school. She was working in a bank call centre last year when she was cast in Hairspray, her first professional production.

A new award this year, Best Newcomer in a Play, highlights emerging talent. Tom Hiddleston, a Rada-trained actor, had been nominated twice – for his performances in Cymbeline and Othello. The former won him the prize last night.

Speaking to The Times, he said: “It’s thrilling. I’m absolutely over the moon. It’s just a great honour.” It was during his second year at Cambridge, where he was reading classics, that Hiddleston’s promise as an actor was first noticed. A leading agent saw him in a student production of Streetcar Named Desire and asked him to contact her, but he decided to complete his degree first.

The Laurence Olivier Awards were established in 1976 as the Society of West End Theatre Awards and have carried Olivier’s name since 1984.


Olivier winners

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN MACBETH designed by Howard Harrison at the Gielgud

BEST SOUND DESIGN SAINT JOAN designed by Paul Arditti with music by Jocelyn Pook at the Olivier

BEST NEWCOMER IN A PLAY Tom Hiddleston for CYMBELINE at the Barbican

BEST NEW DANCE PRODUCTION The Royal Ballet's JEWELS at the Royal Opera House

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE The Royal Ballet Company for their performances in JEWELS

BEST COSTUME DESIGN THE MAN OF MODE designed by Vicki Mortimer at the Olivier

BEST SET DESIGN WAR HORSE designed by Rae Smith and Handspring Puppet Company at the Olivier

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT OR PERFORMANCE IN AN AFFILIATE THEATRE GONE TOO FAR at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Rory Kinnear for THE MAN OF MODE at the Olivier

BEST ACTOR Chiwetel Ejiofor for OTHELLO at the Donmar Warehouse

BEST ACTRESS Kristin Scott Thomas for THE SEAGULL at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL Tracie Bennett for HAIRSPRAY at the Shaftesbury

BEST THEATRE CHOREOGRAPHER Toby Sedgwick for WAR HORSE at the Olivier

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL Leanne Jones for HAIRSRPAY at the Shaftesbury

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL Michael Ball for HAIRSPRAY at the Shaftesbury

BEST NEW OPERA PRODUCTION The Royal Opera's PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE at the Royal Opera House

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN OPERA Natalie Dessay for her performance in LA FILLE DU RÉGIMENT at the Royal Opera House

BEST REVIVAL SAINT JOAN by Bernard Shaw at the Olivier

BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL THE MAGIC FLUTE- IMPEMPE YOMLINGO adapted from Mozart by Mark Dornford-May, words and music by Mandisi Dyantyis, Mbali Kgosidintsi, Pauline Malefane and Nolufefe Mtshabe at the Young Vic

BEST NEW PLAY A DISAPPEARING NUMBER by Simon McBurney at the Barbican

BEST NEW COMEDY RAFTA RAFTA by Ayub Khan-Din based on All in Good Time by Bill Naughton at the Lyttelton

BEST DIRECTOR Rupert Goold for MACBETH at the Gielgud

BEST NEW MUSICAL HAIRSPRAY book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, based upon the New Line Cinema film written and directed by John Waters

The Society's SPECIAL AWARD Andrew Lloyd Webber

Editor's choice

• The 100 Best Films of the Decade
• 70 facts you didn't know about Marvel
• The 50 Biggest Movies Of 2010