Who's Next to the Triple Crown?
Thursday, May 28, 2020 at 4:47PM by Eric Blume
I’m sure we’ve all found ourselves in some sort of YouTube hole at some point during lockdown. Mine has led me to rewatching snippets from Tony Awards ceremonies from about a decade ago. I had completely forgotten that Eddie Redmayne had won a Tony for his work in the play Red, which is strange because I saw his performance in that show and he was staggeringly good. He absolutely deserved that Tony.
I then realized that because he has since won an Oscar, he is only an Emmy away from the Triple Crown of Acting. This triple-crown honor (you can see the actors who have won all three big awards of the Tony, Oscar, and Emmy here) has been nabbed by only 24 actors in the history of show business awards! It’s a very elusive accomplishment and prestigious list of people. In just the last five years, though, there's been a lot of movement -- we've recently seen Helen Mirren, Frances McDormand, Jessica Lange, Viola Davis, and Glenda Jackson all secure this title.
That got me to thinking: wow, it seems highly likely that Eddie Redmayne would find a big role in a series or miniseries to win that Emmy and be in this company? He’s young, still at the top of his game, and while I don’t think he’s quite in the league of the other major actors who have won all three, he is surely a likely candidate.
But who are some others...
(Disclaimer: you may feel passionate about the EGOT; I do not. I think the Grammy is an award for non-actors, and I think the Triple Crown has more interest to lovers of acting. Sorry not sorry.)
Mark Rylance has a few Tonys and an Oscar. He also seems a strong contender for an eventual Emmy. It’s always wonderful when great British actors like him and Judi Dench don’t become “famous” until later in their careers after doing decades of noted stage work. He’d be a worthy addition to the list, and at least we’d get another one of his trademark weirdo acceptance speeches!
Laurie Metcalf almost joined this troupe a few years ago, when she just missed winning her much-deserved Oscar for Lady Bird. She has a few Emmys for her work on Roseanne, and two Tonys just in the past several years. Will she ever get another film role as good as Marion, or another scene partner who brings out as much in her as Saoirse Ronan did?
Then there are several actors who have two of those awards
TONY & EMMY. No Oscar
Mary-Louise Parker has a Tony and an Emmy, but her movie career has been nowhere in the past many years (which is a bummer, she’s special…maybe too special?). Cherry Jones, Hugh Jackman, Cynthia Nixon, John Lithgow, and Billy Porter all have their Tony and Emmy statues as well, but will any of them get a juicy enough part for Oscar?
I’m discounting some double-winners only because it seems unlikely that they’d land that third statue, but who knows? Maybe Tony Shalhoub, Neil Patrick Harris, David Hyde Pierce, Bette Midler, Courtney B. Vance, or John Larroquette could land an Oscar role, but…seems highly unlikely.
OSCAR & TONY. No Emmy
Marcia Gay Harden, Denzel Washington, Kevin Kline, Judi Dench, and Catherine Zeta-Jones all have their Oscar and Tony, but have yet to win for television. Any of them seem like strong possibilities to clinch an Emmy in the next decade? I'm leaving out Kevin Spacey because, Kevin Spacey.
OSCAR & EMMY. No Tony
Dianne Wiest has two Oscars and two Emmys, but despite being a regular theater actress, has no Tony. Same is true for Holly Hunter and Kathy Bates, though neither of them have returned to the stage in many years. Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet are shy a Tony, but neither perform onstage in NYC so Tonys seems highly unlikely. Julianne Moore had a rather disastrous turn in her Broadway debut a few years back (it pains me to say she was not good), and has stated she would not return. Nicole Kidman, who has been on Broadway once before (to lots of buzz) is an outside possibility for a Tony if she brings in a show the next decade. Helen Hunt, Halle Berry, and Gwyneth Paltrow also have the Osar and Emmy but those three seem highly unlikely for a Tony down the line.
Of course, Meryl Streep could do a play on Broadway and win the Tony handily. She did five Broadway plays in the 1970s but hasnt been on stage much since with the major exception of that acclaimed brief 2006 run of Bertol Brecht's Mother Courage at Shakespeare in the Park. Perhaps a Broadway return would be a final act move for her when she's older? Cicely Tyson and Glenda Jackson recently won the Best Actress Tony in their late 80s (and Meryl is just 71 next month).
Who am I forgetting, readers? There are likely others, and I think it’s just fun to take a look at these names. If you look at the 24 current Triple Crown folks, they are almost all major actors. It truly takes an incredible amount of talent and technique to deliver in all three of these mediums.
Personally, from this list, I’m rooting for Hugh Jackman to get a role that could bring him an Oscar. He’s phenomenally talented, with unique charisma and a smart judgment of what a role needs for it to soar. Or it’d be fantastic to see one of the character actors (Marcia, Cherry, Lithgow) bring it all home.
Who would you vote for? Sound off in the comments.
Reader Comments (51)
Tony Shalhoub has so much go will in the industry. If there is ever a movie that just happens to fit him or is tailored to his talents I can even see a narrative where he is "due" for an Oscar.
Gwyneth Paltrow was very well received when she performed Proof on stage. If she decides she really wants a Tony she could return to stage and given her competition could probably walk away with one.
Kevin Kline and Denzel Washington might win Emmys in different categories- Kline for voice work and Washington for directing. Washington could direct more TV and win an Emmy that way.
Am I crazy or didn't Geoffrey Rush win an Emmy for The Life and Death of Peter Sellers? If so, he's already in the Triple Crown of Acting.
Mark Rylance definitely seems like a possibility since he works a lot and is an awards magnet. A good TV gig in a prestigious miniseries akin to Chernobyl should snag him an Emmy in the future. Ditto Denzel Washington.
Cate Blanchett is likely to win the Emmy this year, and it will be a matter of time before she wins a Tony. She's a theatre beast and always acclaimed when she's on stage. Also, I could also see Scarlett Johansson join this club in the future (strangely enough, her only major industry award is a Tony, so she got the hard part out of the way first).
I think Glenn Close has a Tony & an Emmy? Hopefully a triple crowner sometime in the future.
Personally I would love to see Laurie Metcalf complete the trio - but it should have been for Ladybird!!
Get that Tony, Halle Berry. I love her.
Allison Janney surely can win a Tony.
Bette Midler could land a Supporting Actress win easily with the right part. Already twice nominated and well respected, plus she can tear up a good comedic role. I'm still hoping.
Cynthia Nixon really should have been in the conversation for James White, but no one saw it. Maybe someday.
Zeta-Jones is the only one on that Emmy list I would have assumed didn't have one. Marcia, Denzel and Judi... how has that never happened for them? No interest? Marcia should just pop into SVU (though I can't remember how her story went) and bag one, you'd think.
I could absolutely see Meryl going to Broadway late career for a final crowning achievement.
Glenn was robbed by K-Mart Emma Thompson.
Rami Malek, Regina King and Laura Dern are all a Tony away from the Triple Crown...
Meryl Streep
Glenn Close
Allison Janney
Mary-Louise Parker
John Lithgow
Laurie Metcalf
Denzel Washington
Marcia Gay Harden
Regina King
Glenn Close, for God's sake!!! (Let's hope Hillbilly Elegy will do her justice)
Its just a matter of time before Cate Blanchett is getting a Tony and Emmy win really
Nathaniel:
How many actresses has won best actress at Cannes/ Berlin/ Venice film festival?
As Aaron said, Geoffrey Rush is already in the Triple Crown of Acting club.
Also, that club is tricky. Can you say Hugh Jackman is an oscar away to join them even if his Emmy is for hosting? It was a non-acting role.
The person I'd love to Triple Crown is Sigourney Weaver (sigh).
Oh, and I hardly believe Hal Halbrook should be a Triple Crown recipient since his Into the wild performance must have given him the oscar. God, I love that performance.
Jackman is the sort of person they'd love to give the Oscar too but please let it be for a musical or comedy.
Almost there (R.I.P.) :
Vivien Leigh : Oscar and Tony
Laurence Olivier : Oscar and Emmy
Geraldine Page : Oscar and Emmy
Colleen Dewhurst : Tony and Emmy
Katherine Hepburn : Oscar and Emmy
Jack Lemmon : Oscar and Emmy
Brian Dennehy : Tony and Emmy
Manuel: Just Juliette Binoche and Julianne Moore. Jack Lemmon and Sean Penn for the men.
I would say Denzel, as I think he could win an Emmy fairly easily, especially given that the competition for Emmys seems stronger among women in recent years. But male movie stars have been more reluctant than female movie stars to move to tv, and I don't know that the promise of an Emmy would mean that much to him.
I'd say that it's very possible that Allison Janney could get a Tony at some point in her career. She started out in the theater and was just back fairly recently! I could definitely see that one happening in the near future! Maybe once "Mom" ends!
Weird to think Spacey was so so close. He got like 8+ nominations for House of Cards but missed his chance. And he might've even pulled off that win for a sixth final season in an alternate timeline.
The ones that surprise me the most are Harden and Dench. Emmy is arguably the easiest of the 3 to get and they've both been tv regulars for years! Harden in particular made the transition before it was as common and for some odd reason they seem to not like her as much. Prime contender for guest and supporting Emmys.
I was about to say Jackman has a * on his name (even if the award says "performance" it was for hosting) but surely that's going to change anyways in a few months. He's well primed to win an acting Emmy for Bad Education.
J - Indeed, Jackman has won an Emmy but for hosting, so he wouldn't triple crown if he won the Oscar. Same goes for Reese Witherspoon and Tom Hanks; they've won Emmys but not in acting categories.
Didn't Eddie Redmayne win the Tony for "Red"?
Patricia Arquette is also a Tony away from the Triple Crown.
Anne Hathaway- has oscar and emmy- can DEFINITELY win a Tony if its the right project.
Please, no more awards for Eddie Redmayne. He really fucking sucks now.
Queen Anne needs a Tony as Scar-Jo 3:16 needs an Oscar and Emmy. Then they can team up to win a... on second thought. Just stick to the Triple Crown. The Grammys are fucking worthless.
The most likely to me is Denzel Washington
@Manuel. Just Juliette Binoche and Julianne Moore have been complete the european crown of acting
The names of some actors with two of them are pure acting class:
Javier Bardem
Maggie Cheung
Isabelle Huppert
Joaquin Phoenix
Charlotte Rampling
Meryl Streep
I would like to know the complete list of actors who are closer to complete the Berlin, Cannes and Venice trio.
Yes, the gifted Brian Dennehy has passed. However, he gave a wonderful performance as veteran Del in Driveways. He might pick up a posthumous Oscar to complete the triple crown.
@Aaron, I'm with you - Blanchett has the Emmy in the bag and she does perform a lot of stage work in Australia... it's only a matter of time until she transfers to Broadway.
As for Johansson, she already has a Tony Award (and I believe she will get more Broadway glory in the future, since she's a New York resident) and she has 2 Academy Award nominations... and I bet she'll become an Oscar winner at some point. As for the Emmy... well, I don't know... she doesn't do a lot of TV work outside her guest work in SNL. I know Sofia Coppola will direct "The Custom of the Country" mini-series, a project Johansson was attached to star: will she? If she plays Undine, I cana see Emmy material
@Tyler. Thanks, I didn't knew Jack Lemmon and Sean Penn have been complete the european crown of acting.
In my research I discovered a list of actors who are missing one prize.
Isabelle Adjani (Venice)
Javier Bardem (Berlin)
Maggie Cheung (Venice)
Tom Courtenay (Cannes)
Benicio Del Toro (Venice)
Gérard Depardieu (Venice)
Bruce Dern (Venice)
Albert Finney (Cannes)
Shahab Hosseini (Venice)
Holly Hunter (Venice)
Isabelle Huppert (Berlin)
Sophia Loren (Berlin)
Shirley MacLaine (Cannes)
Helen Mirren (Berlin)
Joaquin Phoenix (Berlin)
Charlotte Rampling (Cannes)
Vanessa Redgrave (Berlin)
Meryl Streep (Venice)
Jean-Louis Trintignant (Venice)
Good list, uh?
I'd love to see a list that takes into account the Olivier. I mean I know Broadway is BROADWAY, but the West End isn't exactly shabby.
Paul, thank you, yes Redmayne won for Red. Just a mental typo from me, apologies.
Richter, I didn't include Malek, King, or Dern on the list because they've never done NYC stage work. It's possible, surely, but I was trying to identify likelihoods. Same for Patricia Arquette...not a stage actress. Allison Janney has been nommed for a Tony before, so she seems more likely?
While it's awfully tough to get an Oscar, and that's probably viewed as The Big Kahuna, I think the hardest one to get is a Tony. Especially for movie stars, who really have to prove they've got the goods...the theater community is very hard to please and a bit cynical about movie stars. Even recent winners like McDormand and Lange only won after doing a fair amount of stage work.
I've been loving everyone's input. Thanks for flagging a few I didn't mention!
Also missing an Oscar are Mandy Patinkin, Diana Rigg, Amanda Plummer and Jane Alexander, the latter of which may be the closest to a triple crown (she's been nominated four times, after all) but I don't think that's likely to happen.
Manuel said "How many actresses has won best actress at Cannes/ Berlin/ Venice film festival?"
Juliette Binoche and Julianne Moore.
Actors has won Best Actoer at Cannes/ Berlin/ Venice: Jack Lemmon and Sean Penn.
Besides her Oscar, Anne Hathaway has an Emmy for voice work in The Simpsons. I could easily see her doing a musical or giving a good performance in a play. Given how young she is, I'd say she's one of the most likely to get there.
Ryan Murphy was responsible for producing the play that earned Lange her Tony. He could potentially do the same for Kathy Bates. But the pandemic has sort of ruined one's desire to perform on stage or be trapped in a theater with the public.
Ryan Murphy was responsible for producing the play that earned Lange her Tony. He could potentially do the same for Kathy Bates. But the pandemic has sort of ruined one's desire to perform on stage or be trapped in a theater with the public.
Where Is Glenn Close on this list??? She has three Tonys and three Emmys.
The aging actors, male and female, who don't yet have an Oscar seem less likely to get one now than in the past. The days of "career awards" for people who are 70+ seem more or less over. John Wayne got one, so did Don Ameche, Jessica Tandy, Henry Fonda, Melvyn Douglas, George Burns, Peggy Ashcroft, etc. But lately, it's almost as if there's such a backlash against it happening that truly deserving people get snubbed for younger blood, like Glenn Close.
Mercedes Ruehl has Oscar and Tony.... maybe next .
Denzel will for sure, it’s a matter of when he’s drawn to Television. Marcia Gay Harden will definitely win a Guest Actress Emmy one of these days. Redmayne is young and will, hope he has to wait. I was sure Lithgow would be having his Plummer-esque film revival and subsequent Oscar nom/s or a win at least, but I still hold out hope. Oh and his fellow Garp nominee, some lady, will get her Oscar moment in the next decade or so.
Agreed on EGOT. I side eye anyone who prizes it so highly and revoke their invitation to the cookout. #BLM
Oh snap, I forgot Janet is a two-time Tony nominee already. She’s in. Congratulations to her when she so chooses to complete the triple!
@Cesar: Also Elio Germano (Venice)
/3rtful you wrote
I would argue that for those who love performing on stage and those who love seeing live theater the desire is still VERY much there. It's just a matter of when everyone will be doing it again.
Alan Arkin just needs that Emmy to Triple Crown.
First off, Rylance should have won for Wolf Hall.
GLENNIEEE!
Gay Harden has been chasing that Emmy for years with her guest acting roles.
Jackman will probably get an Oscar soon.
Can you imagine if Gwyneth gets a Tony when she revives an acclaimed play in her older years?
Meryl will never get this Triple Crown, I'm afraid.
And Stockard Channing!
She has a Tony and two Emmys.
César Gaytán:
that list is awesome!
@Oracle
LOL. Who the hell is Janet? I find it funny how you English language people refer to actors by their first name or reduce film titles by the first letter of each word.
@J
I apologise, it was meant to say Janney, so it was just a case of misspelled surname. Sorry that I caused you offense and sadness. That was never my intention and I hope you will accept my humblest apology. I Hope you are doing okay in these times and don't let small mistakes bring you down too much. xo
@Oracle
Ok... That was weird. I still struggle with interlingualism.
@Tyler. Thanks, I didn't knew Jack Lemmon and Sean Penn have been complete the european crown of acting.
In my research I discovered a list of actors who are missing one prize.
Isabelle Adjani (Venice)
Javier Bardem (Berlin)
Maggie Cheung (Venice)
Tom Courtenay (Cannes)
Benicio Del Toro (Venice)
Gérard Depardieu (Venice)
Bruce Dern (Venice)
Albert Finney (Cannes)
Shahab Hosseini (Venice)
Holly Hunter (Venice)
Isabelle Huppert (Berlin)
Sophia Loren (Berlin)
Shirley MacLaine (Cannes)
Helen Mirren (Berlin)
Joaquin Phoenix (Berlin)
Charlotte Rampling (Cannes)
Vanessa Redgrave (Berlin)
Meryl Streep (Venice)
Jean-Louis Trintignant (Venice)
Good list, uh?
Adding to this list is:
Cate Blanchett (Cannes). She almost won for Carol in 2015 but Rooney won
All Streep needs is a role on Broadway. She'll win the Tony. Period.
Julie Andrews just needs the Tony. It's absolutely ridiculous she didn't win for Camelot.