Actors Over 50 Score 8 Top Tony Nominations

George Clooney and Mia Farrow are among contenders for Broadway's highest honor, but Denzel Washington and Patti LuPone got snubbed

AARP Staff

Associated Press

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Published May 01, 2025

George Clooney during the opening night curtain call of "Good Night and Good Luck"

Bruce Glikas/Getty Images

Talents over age 50 earned eight of the 20 lead acting honors when the Tony Awards nominations were announced May 1, the same percentage as last year's nominations.

In his Broadway debut, George Clooney, 63, was nominated for Good Night, and Good Luck. Also honored: Mia Farrow, 80 (The Roommate), Audra McDonald, 54 (Gypsy), LaTanya Richardson Jackson, 75, and Harry Lennix, 60 (Purpose), Jennifer Simard, 54 (Death Becomes Her), Daniel Dale Kim, 56 (Yellow Face) and James Monroe Inglehart, 50 (A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical).

But there were painful snubs as well. Shockingly, even though Denzel Washington, 70, set a Broadway record for weekly grosses in Othello, whose tickets cost as much as $900, he was not nominated, and while Clooney was nominated for acting, he got no honor for co-writing the stage adaptation of his 2005 film, which broke the box office record set by Othello. Mia Farrow's The Roommate co-star Patti LuPone, 76, was also snubbed.

Bob Odenkirk, 62, was nominated as best featured actor in Glengarry Glen Ross, but costars Michael McKean, 77, and Bill Burr, 56, were snubbed. Other snub victims: Our Town's Jim Parsons, 52, Pirates! The Penzance Musical's David Hyde Pierce, 66, McNeal’s Robert Downey Jr., 60, and Redwood's Idina Menzel, 53.

Audra McDonald, who holds the record for Tony acting wins with six, broke another record with her eleventh nomination, beating Chita Rivera and Julie Harris. Her Gypsy role as Rose led to previous Tonys for the likes of Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, 79, and Patti LuPone.

Three Broadway shows — Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her and Maybe Happy Ending — each earned a leading 10 Tony Award nominations

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Buena Vista Social Club will face off for best musical crown with Death Becomes Her, based on the 1992 cult classic film of the same name about frenemeies who seek a magic eternal youth and beauty potion.

In the best play category, English, Sanaz Toossi’s look at four Iranian students preparing for an English language exam, made the cut, as did The Hills of California, Jez Butterworth’s look at a family gathering for the impending death of its matriarch, and Oh, Mary!, an irreverent, raunchy, gleefully deranged revisionist history by Cole Escola centered on Mary Todd Lincoln.

The Tony Awards will be awarded June 8 at Radio City Music Hall during a telecast hosted by Wicked star and Tony winner Cynthia Erivo.

Join Our Fight Against Age Discrimination

In its coverage of Broadway, TV, music and movies, and the live theatrical performances it presents for free for members, AARP is all about making the most of life after 50, for talents and audiences alike. “Part of our social mission is fighting ageism,” said AARP CEO Myechia Minter-Jordan, 52, on the red carpet at this year’s AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, telecast on PBS. Whether it’s on stage or onscreen, it’s always good business to bet on the 50-plus demo, since the Broadway League's 2025 survey revealed that the number of theatergoers 50 and up increased 12 percent, and a new AARP survey found that 61 million viewers over 50 attend movies and 73 percent want to see people like themselves on the screen. And a 2017 AARP survey revealed that grownups bought 75 percent of all tickets to art-house movies, the kind that win Movies for Grownups Awards, and then Oscars.