Daniel Radcliffe wins his first Tony award for “Merrily We Roll Along.” In his heartfelt acceptance speech, he expressed his overwhelming gratitude and excitement.
Daniel Radcliffe clinched the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for his portrayal of Charley Kringas in the revival of “Merrily We Roll Along.” The musical, originally a 1981 production by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth, had a brief initial run of just 12 days before closing.
In his heartfelt acceptance speech, Radcliffe expressed his overwhelming gratitude and excitement. “I’m gonna just talk fast and try not to cry,” he began. “This has been one of the best experiences of my life. It’s been unbelievable.”
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He extended special thanks to his co-stars Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez, along with the entire cast, saying, “It is an honor to be on stage with you all every single night.” He also took a moment to acknowledge his parents in the audience, ending with a touching, “Happy Father’s Day, Dad. Thank you for playing Sondheim in the car and just loving me.”
Radcliffe expressed appreciation for the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, director Maria Friedman, Sondheim and Furth for their original creation, and everyone involved at the Hudson Theatre. He also thanked his agent, dresser, and singing teacher among others.
Since his time as Harry Potter, Radcliffe has carved out a new path in his career. He earned his first Emmy nomination in 2023 for his role as Weird Al Yankovic in “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story,” and now celebrates his first Tony win.
Reflecting on his journey, he remarked, “When I finished Potter, I had no idea what my career was going to be. I’d already started doing some stage stuff, but I didn’t know what the future held at all. So, to have had the last year of playing Weird Al and also doing Merrily We Roll Along, I do think there was some… playing one character for a long time builds up in you a desire to do as many things as you possibly can. So yeah, I’m doing that right now.”
Radcliffe’s competition included Roger Bart from “Back To The Future: The Musical,” Joshua Boone and Sky Lakota-Lynch from “The Outsiders,” Brandon Victor Dixon from “Hell’s Kitchen,” and Steven Skybell from “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club.”
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“Merrily We Roll Along,” marking Daniel Radcliffe’s fifth Broadway production and his first Tony nomination, also won Best Revival of a Musical, Best Lead Actor in a Musical for Groff, and Best Orchestrations for Jonathan Tunick. Radcliffe made his Broadway debut in 2008 with “Equus” and has since established himself in the theatre world.
Reflecting on his Broadway journey, he said, “I didn’t know how the world was going to see me after those films were done. Between Equus and How to Succeed [in Business Without Really Trying, his second Broadway show], this place was giving me a chance to be something else and to find out who I was as an actor.”
“Merrily We Roll Along” explores the lives of three lifelong friends, portrayed by Radcliffe, Groff, and Mendez. The narrative begins in the present day, showing the friends having drifted apart, and moves backward to the inception of their friendship nearly two decades earlier, delving into themes of success, show business, and enduring relationships.
The 2024 Tony Awards were held at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York. The event was split into two parts: the preshow, hosted by Julianne Hough and Utkarsh Ambudkar, featured the first round of awards, while the main ceremony, hosted by Ariana DeBose, was broadcast on CBS and Paramount+.
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