Washington DC [US], June 9: Sarah Snook has won the Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Play at the 2025 Tony Awards for her performance in The Picture of Dorian Gray. The innovative one-woman production features Snook portraying all 26 characters from Oscar Wilde’s 1890 Gothic classic — including the titular Dorian, who trades his soul for eternal youth.
This Broadway run follows Snook’s critically acclaimed West End performance, which earned her the 2024 Olivier Award for Best Actress.
In previous interviews, the Succession star reflected on the intense challenges of preparing for the role while also caring for her infant daughter.
“A month before opening, I felt distant from the play and hadn’t learned my lines. I just felt, ‘What am I doing? Why am I doing a 60,000-word monologue with an eight-month-old baby?’” she said, according to the New York Post.
She added that night breastfeeding became a chance to rehearse:
“Rather than being on my phone and feeding her, I would run over the lines. I find that if you learn your lines at night and then sleep on them they do go in more effectively.”
Snook also revealed how she stayed physically and mentally prepared, taking inspiration from Taylor Swift’s Eras Tourworkout routine.
“No alcohol, no caffeine. Sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep. And I do my lines at pace on a treadmill,” she said, referencing Swift’s method of singing while running to build stamina.
“I heard that and thought, ‘That’s a genius idea. I’m gonna do that.’”
Snook, who played Shiv Roy in HBO’s Emmy-winning Succession, won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in January 2024. During her acceptance speech, she paid an emotional tribute to her daughter:
“It’s very easy to act when you’re pregnant because you’ve got hormones raging… The proximity of her life growing inside me gave me the strength to do this. I love you so much, and it’s all for you from here on out.”
Succession, which concluded in 2023 after four seasons, solidified Snook’s global acclaim. In the final season, she reprised her role as Siobhan “Shiv” Roy, navigating the Roy family’s internal power struggle following the death of patriarch Logan Roy.
With her groundbreaking Dorian Gray performance, Snook continues to redefine stage acting, proving her immense range and dedication to the craft.