# Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical

The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actors for quality leading roles in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival. The awards are named after Antoinette Perry, an American actress who died in 1946.
Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, to "honor the best performances and stage productions of the previous year."
The award was originally called the Tony Award for Actors—Musical. It was first presented to Paul Hartman at the 2nd Tony Awards for his portrayal of various characters in Angel in the Wings. Before 1956, nominees' names were not made public; the change was made by the awards committee to "have a greater impact on theatregoers".
Nine actors hold the record for having the most wins in this category, with a total of two. John Cullum, Brian d'Arcy James and Raul Julia are tied with the most nominations, with a total of four. Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is the character to take the award the most times, winning three times.

## Winners and nominees
### 1940s

| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Project | Ref. |
| 1947 (1st) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded |
| 1948 (2nd) |
| 1948 (2nd) | Paul Hartman | Angel in the Wings | Various Characters | |
| 1949 (3rd) |
| 1949 (3rd) | Ray Bolger | Where's Charley? | Charley Wykeham | |

### 1950s

| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Project |
| 1950 (4th) |
| 1950 (4th) | Ezio Pinza | South Pacific | Emile De Beque |
| 1951 (5th) |
| 1951 (5th) | Robert Alda | Guys and Dolls | Sky Masterson |
| 1952 (6th) |
| 1952 (6th) | Phil Silvers | Top Banana | Jerry Biffle |
| 1953 (7th) |
| 1953 (7th) | Thomas Mitchell | Hazel Flagg | Dr. Downer |
| 1954 (8th) |
| 1954 (8th) | Alfred Drake | Kismet | Hajj |
| 1955 (9th) |
| 1955 (9th) | Walter Slezak | Fanny | Panisse |
| 1956 (10th) |
| 1956 (10th) | Ray Walston | Damn Yankees | Mr. Applegate |
| 1956 (10th) | Stephen Douglass | Damn Yankees | Joe Hardy |
| 1956 (10th) | William Johnson | Pipe Dream | Doc |
| 1957 (11th) | | | |
| 1957 (11th) | Rex Harrison | My Fair Lady | Henry Higgins |
| 1957 (11th) | Fernando Lamas | Happy Hunting | Duke of Granada |
| 1957 (11th) | Robert Weede | The Most Happy Fella | Tony |
| 1958 (12th) | | | |
| 1958 (12th) | Robert Preston | The Music Man | Harold Hill |
| 1958 (12th) | Eddie Foy Jr. | Rumple | Rumple |
| 1958 (12th) | Ricardo Montalbán | Jamaica | Koli |
| 1958 (12th) | Tony Randall | Oh, Captain! | Captain Henry St. James |
| 1959 (13th) | | | |
| 1959 (13th) | Richard Kiley | Redhead | Tom Baxter |
| 1959 (13th) | Larry Blyden | Flower Drum Song | Sammy Fong |

### 1960s

| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Project |
| 1960 (14th) |
| 1960 (14th) | Jackie Gleason | Take Me Along | Sid Davis |
| 1960 (14th) | Andy Griffith | Destry Rides Again | Destry |
| 1960 (14th) | Robert Morse | Take Me Along | Richard Miller |
| 1960 (14th) | Anthony Perkins | Greenwillow | Gideon Briggs |
| 1960 (14th) | Walter Pidgeon | Take Me Along | Nat Miller |
| 1961 (15th) | | | |
| 1961 (15th) | Richard Burton | Camelot | Arthur |
| 1961 (15th) | Maurice Evans | Tenderloin | Reverend Brock |
| 1961 (15th) | Phil Silvers | Do Re Mi | Hubert Cram |
| 1962 (16th) | | | |
| 1962 (16th) | Robert Morse | How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying | J. Pierrepont Finch |
| 1962 (16th) | Ray Bolger | All-American | Professor Fodorski |
| 1962 (16th) | Alfred Drake | Kean | Edmund Kean |
| 1962 (16th) | Richard Kiley | No Strings | David Jordan |
| 1963 (17th) | | | |
| 1963 (17th) | Zero Mostel | A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | Pseudolus |
| 1963 (17th) | Sid Caesar | Little Me | Various Characters |
| 1963 (17th) | Anthony Newley | Stop the World – I Want to Get Off | Littlechap |
| 1963 (17th) | Clive Revill | Oliver! | Fagin |
| 1964 (18th) | | | |
| 1964 (18th) | Bert Lahr | Foxy | Foxy |
| 1964 (18th) | Sydney Chaplin | Funny Girl | Nick Arnstein |
| 1964 (18th) | Bob Fosse | Pal Joey | Joey Evans |
| 1964 (18th) | Steve Lawrence | What Makes Sammy Run? | Sammy Glick |
| 1965 (19th) | | | |
| 1965 (19th) | Zero Mostel | Fiddler on the Roof | Tevye |
| 1965 (19th) | Sammy Davis Jr. | Golden Boy | Joe Wellington |
| 1965 (19th) | Cyril Ritchard | The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd | Sir |
| 1965 (19th) | Tommy Steele | Half a Sixpence | Arthur Kipps |
| 1966 (20th) | | | |
| 1966 (20th) | Richard Kiley | Man of La Mancha | Don Quixote / Cervantes |
| 1966 (20th) | Jack Cassidy | It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman | Max Mencken |
| 1966 (20th) | John Cullum | On a Clear Day You Can See Forever | Dr. Mark Bruckner |
| 1966 (20th) | Harry Secombe | Pickwick | Pickwick |
| 1967 (21st) | | | |
| 1967 (21st) | Robert Preston | I Do! I Do! | Michael |
| 1967 (21st) | Alan Alda | The Apple Tree | Various Characters |
| 1967 (21st) | Jack Gilford | Cabaret | Herr Schultz |
| 1967 (21st) | Norman Wisdom | Walking Happy | Will Mossop |
| 1968 (22nd) | | | |
| 1968 (22nd) | Robert Goulet | The Happy Time | Jacques Bonnard |
| 1968 (22nd) | Robert Hooks | Hallelujah, Baby! | Clem |
| 1968 (22nd) | Tony Roberts | How Now, Dow Jones | Charley |
| 1968 (22nd) | David Wayne | The Happy Time | Grandpere Bonnard |
| 1969 (23rd) | | | |
| 1969 (23rd) | Jerry Orbach | Promises, Promises | Chuck Baxter |
| 1969 (23rd) | Herschel Bernardi | Zorba | Zorba |
| 1969 (23rd) | Jack Cassidy | Maggie Flynn | The Clown |
| 1969 (23rd) | Joel Grey | George M! | George M. Cohan |

### 1970s

| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Project |
| 1970 (24th) |
| 1970 (24th) | Cleavon Little | Purlie | Purlie |
| 1970 (24th) | Len Cariou | Applause | Bill Sampson |
| 1970 (24th) | Robert Weede | Cry for Us All | Edward Quinn |
| 1971 (25th) | | | |
| 1971 (25th) | Hal Linden | The Rothschilds | Mayer Rothschild |
| 1971 (25th) | David Burns | Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen | Col. Wainwright Purdy III |
| 1971 (25th) | Larry Kert | Company | Bobby |
| 1971 (25th) | Bobby Van | No, No, Nanette | Billy Early |
| 1972 (26th) | | | |
| 1972 (26th) | Phil Silvers | A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | Pseudolus |
| 1972 (26th) | Barry Bostwick | Grease | Danny Zuko |
| 1972 (26th) | Clifton Davis | Two Gentlemen of Verona | Valentine |
| 1972 (26th) | Raul Julia | Two Gentlemen of Verona | Proteus |
| 1973 (27th) | | | |
| 1973 (27th) | Ben Vereen | Pippin | The Leading Player |
| 1973 (27th) | Len Cariou | A Little Night Music | Frederick Egerman |
| 1973 (27th) | Robert Morse | Sugar | Jerry |
| 1973 (27th) | Brock Peters | Lost in the Stars | Stephen Kumalo |
| 1974 (28th) | | | |
| 1974 (28th) | Christopher Plummer | Cyrano | Cyrano de Bergerac |
| 1974 (28th) | Alfred Drake | Gigi | Honore Lachailles |
| 1974 (28th) | Joe Morton | Raisin | Walter Lee Younger |
| 1974 (28th) | Lewis J. Stadlen | Candide | Various Characters |
| 1975 (29th) | | | |
| 1975 (29th) | John Cullum | Shenandoah | Charlie Anderson |
| 1975 (29th) | Joel Grey | Goodtime Charley | Charley |
| 1975 (29th) | Raul Julia | Where's Charley? | Charley Wykeham |
| 1975 (29th) | Eddie Mekka | The Lieutenant | Lieutenant |
| 1975 (29th) | Robert Preston | Mack & Mabel | Mack Sennett |
| 1976 (30th) | | | |
| 1976 (30th) | George Rose | My Fair Lady | Alfred P. Doolittle |
| 1976 (30th) | Mako | Pacific Overtures | Various Characters |
| 1976 (30th) | Jerry Orbach | Chicago | Billy Flynn |
| 1976 (30th) | Ian Richardson | My Fair Lady | Henry Higgins |
| 1977 (31st) | | | |
| 1977 (31st) | Barry Bostwick | The Robber Bridegroom | Jamie Lockhart |
| 1977 (31st) | Robert Guillaume | Guys and Dolls | Nathan Detroit |
| 1977 (31st) | Raul Julia | The Threepenny Opera | Macheath |
| 1977 (31st) | Reid Shelton | Annie | Oliver Warbucks |
| 1978 (32nd) | | | |
| 1978 (32nd) | John Cullum | On the Twentieth Century | Oscar Jaffee |
| 1978 (32nd) | Eddie Bracken | Hello, Dolly! | Horace Vandergelder |
| 1978 (32nd) | Barry Nelson | The Act | Dan Conners |
| 1978 (32nd) | Gilbert Price | Timbuktu! | The Mansa of Mali |
| 1979 (33rd) | | | |
| 1979 (33rd) | Len Cariou | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Sweeney Todd |
| 1979 (33rd) | Vincent Gardenia | Ballroom | Alfred Rossi |
| 1979 (33rd) | Joel Grey | The Grand Tour | S. L. Jacobowsky |
| 1979 (33rd) | Robert Klein | They're Playing Our Song | Vernon Gersch |

### 1980s

| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Project |
| 1980 (34th) |
| 1980 (34th) | Jim Dale | Barnum | P. T. Barnum |
| 1980 (34th) | Gregory Hines | Comin' Uptown | Scrooge |
| 1980 (34th) | Mickey Rooney | Sugar Babies | Mickey |
| 1980 (34th) | Giorgio Tozzi | The Most Happy Fella | Tony |
| 1981 (35th) | | | |
| 1981 (35th) | Kevin Kline | The Pirates of Penzance | The Pirate King |
| 1981 (35th) | Gregory Hines | Sophisticated Ladies | Performer |
| 1981 (35th) | George Rose | The Pirates of Penzance | Major-General |
| 1981 (35th) | Martin Vidnovic | Brigadoon | Tommy Albright |
| 1982 (36th) | | | |
| 1982 (36th) | Ben Harney | Dreamgirls | Curtis Taylor Jr. |
| 1982 (36th) | Herschel Bernardi | Fiddler on the Roof | Tevye |
| 1982 (36th) | Victor Garber | Little Me | Various Characters |
| 1982 (36th) | Raul Julia | Nine | Guido Contini |
| 1983 (37th) | | | |
| 1983 (37th) | Tommy Tune | My One and Only | Captain Billy Buck Chandler |
| 1983 (37th) | Al Green | Your Arms Too Short to Box with God | Performer |
| 1983 (37th) | George Hearn | A Doll's Life | Various Characters |
| 1983 (37th) | Michael V. Smartt | Porgy and Bess | Porgy |
| 1984 (38th) | | | |
| 1984 (38th) | George Hearn | La Cage aux Folles | Albin |
| 1984 (38th) | Gene Barry | La Cage aux Folles | Georges |
| 1984 (38th) | Ron Moody | Oliver! | Fagin |
| 1984 (38th) | Mandy Patinkin | Sunday in the Park with George | Georges Seurat / George |
| 1985 (39th) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded |
| 1986 (40th) |
| 1986 (40th) | George Rose | The Mystery of Edwin Drood | Mayor Thomas Sapsea / William Cartwright |
| 1986 (40th) | Don Correia | Singin' in the Rain | Don Lockwood |
| 1986 (40th) | Cleavant Derricks | Big Deal | Charley |
| 1986 (40th) | Maurice Hines | Uptown... It's Hot! | Performer |
| 1987 (41st) | | | |
| 1987 (41st) | Robert Lindsay | Me and My Girl | Bill Snibson |
| 1987 (41st) | Roderick Cook | Oh, Coward! | Performer |
| 1987 (41st) | Terrence Mann | Les Misérables | Javert |
| 1987 (41st) | Colm Wilkinson | Les Misérables | Jean Valjean |
| 1988 (42nd) | | | |
| 1988 (42nd) | Michael Crawford | The Phantom of the Opera | The Phantom of the Opera |
| 1988 (42nd) | Scott Bakula | Romance/Romance | Alfred Von Wilmers / Sam |
| 1988 (42nd) | David Carroll | Chess | Anatoly Sergievsky |
| 1988 (42nd) | Howard McGillin | Anything Goes | Billy Crocker |
| 1989 (43rd) | | | |
| 1989 (43rd) | Jason Alexander | Jerome Robbins' Broadway | Various Characters |
| 1989 (43rd) | Gabriel Barre | Starmites | Trinkulus |
| 1989 (43rd) | Robert La Fosse | Jerome Robbins' Broadway | Various Characters |
| 1989 (43rd) | Brian Lane Green | Starmites | Spacepunk |

### 1990s

| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Project |
| 1990 (44th) |
| 1990 (44th) | James Naughton | City of Angels | Stone |
| 1990 (44th) | David Carroll | Grand Hotel | Felix Von Gaigern |
| 1990 (44th) | Gregg Edelman | City of Angels | Stine |
| 1990 (44th) | Bob Gunton | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Sweeney Todd |
| 1991 (45th) | | | |
| 1991 (45th) | Jonathan Pryce | Miss Saigon | The Engineer |
| 1991 (45th) | Keith Carradine | The Will Rogers Follies | Will Rogers |
| 1991 (45th) | Paul Hipp | Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story | Buddy Holly |
| 1991 (45th) | Topol | Fiddler on the Roof | Tevye |
| 1992 (46th) | | | |
| 1992 (46th) | Gregory Hines | Jelly's Last Jam | Jelly Roll Morton |
| 1992 (46th) | Harry Groener | Crazy for You | Bobby Child |
| 1992 (46th) | Nathan Lane | Guys and Dolls | Nathan Detroit |
| 1992 (46th) | Michael Rupert | Falsettos | Marvin |
| 1993 (47th) | | | |
| 1993 (47th) | Brent Carver | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Luis Molina |
| 1993 (47th) | Tim Curry | My Favorite Year | Alan Swann |
| 1993 (47th) | Con O'Neill | Blood Brothers | Mickey |
| 1993 (47th) | Martin Short | The Goodbye Girl | Elliot Garfield |
| 1994 (48th) | | | |
| 1994 (48th) | Boyd Gaines | She Loves Me | Georg Nowack |
| 1994 (48th) | Victor Garber | Damn Yankees | Mr. Applegate |
| 1994 (48th) | Terrence Mann | Beauty and the Beast | The Beast |
| 1994 (48th) | Jere Shea | Passion | Giorgio |
| 1995 (49th) | | | |
| 1995 (49th) | Matthew Broderick | How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying | J. Pierrepont Finch |
| 1995 (49th) | Alan Campbell | Sunset Boulevard | Joe Gillis |
| 1995 (49th) | Mark Jacoby | Show Boat | Gaylord Ravenal |
| 1995 (49th) | John McMartin | Show Boat | Cap'n Andy |
| 1996 (50th) | | | |
| 1996 (50th) | Nathan Lane | A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | Pseudolus |
| 1996 (50th) | Savion Glover | Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk | 'da Beat / Lil' Dahlin' |
| 1996 (50th) | Adam Pascal | Rent | Roger Davis |
| 1996 (50th) | Lou Diamond Phillips | The King and I | The King of Siam |
| 1997 (51st) | | | |
| 1997 (51st) | James Naughton | Chicago | Billy Flynn |
| 1997 (51st) | Robert Cuccioli | Jekyll & Hyde | Dr. Henry Jekyll / Edward Hyde |
| 1997 (51st) | Jim Dale | Candide | Dr. Pangloss |
| 1997 (51st) | Daniel McDonald | Steel Pier | Bill Kelly |
| 1998 (52nd) | | | |
| 1998 (52nd) | Alan Cumming | Cabaret | The Master of Ceremonies |
| 1998 (52nd) | Peter Friedman | Ragtime | Tateh |
| 1998 (52nd) | Douglas Sills | The Scarlet Pimpernel | Percy Blakeney |
| 1998 (52nd) | Brian Stokes Mitchell | Ragtime | Coalhouse Walker Jr. |
| 1999 (53rd) | | | |
| 1999 (53rd) | Martin Short | Little Me | Various Characters |
| 1999 (53rd) | Brent Carver | Parade | Leo Frank |
| 1999 (53rd) | Adam Cooper | Swan Lake | The Swan |
| 1999 (53rd) | Tom Wopat | Annie Get Your Gun | Frank Butler |

### 2000s

| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Project |
| 2000 (54th) |
| 2000 (54th) | Brian Stokes Mitchell | Kiss Me, Kate | Fred Graham / Petruchio |
| 2000 (54th) | Craig Bierko | The Music Man | Harold Hill |
| 2000 (54th) | George Hearn | Putting It Together | The Husband |
| 2000 (54th) | Mandy Patinkin | The Wild Party | Burrs |
| 2000 (54th) | Christopher Walken | The Dead | Gabriel Conroy |
| 2001 (55th) | | | |
| 2001 (55th) | Nathan Lane | The Producers | Max Bialystock |
| 2001 (55th) | Matthew Broderick | The Producers | Leo Bloom |
| 2001 (55th) | Kevin Chamberlin | Seussical | Horton the Elephant |
| 2001 (55th) | Tom Hewitt | The Rocky Horror Show | Dr. Frank N. Furter |
| 2001 (55th) | Patrick Wilson | The Full Monty | Jerry Lukowski |
| 2002 (56th) | | | |
| 2002 (56th) | John Lithgow | Sweet Smell of Success | J.J. Hunsecker |
| 2002 (56th) | Gavin Creel | Thoroughly Modern Millie | Jimmy Smith |
| 2002 (56th) | John Cullum | Urinetown | Caldwell B. Cladwell |
| 2002 (56th) | John McMartin | Into the Woods | Narrator / Mysterious Man |
| 2002 (56th) | Patrick Wilson | Oklahoma! | Curly McLain |
| 2003 (57th) | | | |
| 2003 (57th) | Harvey Fierstein | Hairspray | Edna Turnblad |
| 2003 (57th) | Antonio Banderas | Nine | Guido Contini |
| 2003 (57th) | Malcolm Gets | Amour | Dusoleil |
| 2003 (57th) | John Selya | Movin' Out | Eddie |
| 2003 (57th) | Brian Stokes Mitchell | Man of La Mancha | Don Quixote / Cervantes |
| 2004 (58th) | | | |
| 2004 (58th) | Hugh Jackman | The Boy from Oz | Peter Allen |
| 2004 (58th) | Hunter Foster | Little Shop of Horrors | Seymour |
| 2004 (58th) | Alfred Molina | Fiddler on the Roof | Tevye |
| 2004 (58th) | Euan Morton | Taboo | George |
| 2004 (58th) | John Tartaglia | Avenue Q | Princeton / Rod |
| 2005 (59th) | | | |
| 2005 (59th) | Norbert Leo Butz | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | Freddy Benson |
| 2005 (59th) | Hank Azaria | Spamalot | Various Characters |
| 2005 (59th) | Gary Beach | La Cage aux Folles | Albin |
| 2005 (59th) | Tim Curry | Spamalot | King Arthur |
| 2005 (59th) | John Lithgow | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | Lawrence Jameson |
| 2006 (60th) | | | |
| 2006 (60th) | John Lloyd Young | Jersey Boys | Frankie Valli |
| 2006 (60th) | Michael Cerveris | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Sweeney Todd |
| 2006 (60th) | Harry Connick Jr. | The Pajama Game | Sid Sorokin |
| 2006 (60th) | Stephen Lynch | The Wedding Singer | Robbie Hart |
| 2006 (60th) | Bob Martin | The Drowsy Chaperone | Man in Chair |
| 2007 (61st) | | | |
| 2007 (61st) | David Hyde Pierce | Curtains | Lieutenant Frank Cioffi |
| 2007 (61st) | Michael Cerveris | LoveMusik | Kurt Weill |
| 2007 (61st) | Raúl Esparza | Company | Robert |
| 2007 (61st) | Jonathan Groff | Spring Awakening | Melchior Gabor |
| 2007 (61st) | Gavin Lee | Mary Poppins | Bert |
| 2008 (62nd) | | | |
| 2008 (62nd) | Paulo Szot | South Pacific | Emile de Becque |
| 2008 (62nd) | Daniel Evans | Sunday in the Park with George | Georges Seurat / George |
| 2008 (62nd) | Lin-Manuel Miranda | In the Heights | Usnavi |
| 2008 (62nd) | Stew | Passing Strange | Narrator |
| 2008 (62nd) | Tom Wopat | A Catered Affair | Tom Hurley |
| 2009 (63rd) | | | |
| 2009 (63rd) | David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish | Billy Elliot the Musical | Billy Elliot |
| 2009 (63rd) | Gavin Creel | Hair | Claude |
| 2009 (63rd) | Brian d'Arcy James | Shrek the Musical | Shrek |
| 2009 (63rd) | Constantine Maroulis | Rock of Ages | Drew |
| 2009 (63rd) | J. Robert Spencer | Next to Normal | Dan Goodman |

### 2010s

| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Project |
| 2010 (64th) |
| 2010 (64th) | Douglas Hodge | La Cage aux Folles | Albin |
| 2010 (64th) | Kelsey Grammer | La Cage aux Folles | Georges |
| 2010 (64th) | Sean Hayes | Promises, Promises | Chuck Baxter |
| 2010 (64th) | Chad Kimball | Memphis | Huey Calhoun |
| 2010 (64th) | Sahr Ngaujah | Fela! | Fela Kuti |
| 2011 (65th) | | | |
| 2011 (65th) | Norbert Leo Butz | Catch Me If You Can | Carl Hanratty |
| 2011 (65th) | Josh Gad | The Book of Mormon | Elder Cunningham |
| 2011 (65th) | Joshua Henry | The Scottsboro Boys | Haywood Patterson |
| 2011 (65th) | Andrew Rannells | The Book of Mormon | Elder Price |
| 2011 (65th) | Tony Sheldon | Priscilla, Queen of the Desert | Bernadette Bassenger |
| 2012 (66th) | | | |
| 2012 (66th) | Steve Kazee | Once | Guy |
| 2012 (66th) | Danny Burstein | Follies | Buddy Plummer |
| 2012 (66th) | Jeremy Jordan | Newsies | Jack Kelly |
| 2012 (66th) | Norm Lewis | Porgy and Bess | Porgy |
| 2012 (66th) | Ron Raines | Follies | Ben Stone |
| 2013 (67th) | | | |
| 2013 (67th) | Billy Porter | Kinky Boots | Lola / Simon |
| 2013 (67th) | Bertie Carvel | Matilda the Musical | Miss Trunchbull |
| 2013 (67th) | Santino Fontana | Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella | Prince Topher |
| 2013 (67th) | Rob McClure | Chaplin | Charlie Chaplin |
| 2013 (67th) | Stark Sands | Kinky Boots | Charlie Price |
| 2014 (68th) | | | |
| 2014 (68th) | Neil Patrick Harris | Hedwig and the Angry Inch | Hedwig Schmidt |
| 2014 (68th) | Ramin Karimloo | Les Misérables | Jean Valjean |
| 2014 (68th) | Andy Karl | Rocky the Musical | Rocky Balboa |
| 2014 (68th) | Jefferson Mays | A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder | The D'Ysquith Family |
| 2014 (68th) | Bryce Pinkham | A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder | Monty Navarro |
| 2015 (69th) | | | |
| 2015 (69th) | Michael Cerveris | Fun Home | Bruce Bechdel |
| 2015 (69th) | Brian d'Arcy James | Something Rotten! | Nick Bottom |
| 2015 (69th) | Robert Fairchild | An American in Paris | Jerry Mulligan |
| 2015 (69th) | Ken Watanabe | The King and I | The King of Siam |
| 2015 (69th) | Tony Yazbeck | On the Town | Gabey |
| 2016 (70th) | | | |
| 2016 (70th) | Leslie Odom Jr. | Hamilton | Aaron Burr |
| 2016 (70th) | Alex Brightman | School of Rock | Dewey Finn |
| 2016 (70th) | Danny Burstein | Fiddler on the Roof | Tevye |
| 2016 (70th) | Zachary Levi | She Loves Me | Georg Nowack |
| 2016 (70th) | Lin-Manuel Miranda | Hamilton | Alexander Hamilton |
| 2017 (71st) | | | |
| 2017 (71st) | Ben Platt | Dear Evan Hansen | Evan Hansen |
| 2017 (71st) | Christian Borle | Falsettos | Marvin |
| 2017 (71st) | Josh Groban | Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 | Pierre Bezukhov |
| 2017 (71st) | Andy Karl | Groundhog Day | Phil Connors |
| 2017 (71st) | David Hyde Pierce | Hello, Dolly! | Horace Vandergelder |
| 2018 (72nd) | | | |
| 2018 (72nd) | Tony Shalhoub | The Band's Visit | Tewfiq Zakaria |
| 2018 (72nd) | Harry Hadden-Paton | My Fair Lady | Henry Higgins |
| 2018 (72nd) | Joshua Henry | Carousel | Billy Bigelow |
| 2018 (72nd) | Ethan Slater | SpongeBob SquarePants | SpongeBob SquarePants |
| 2019 (73rd) | | | |
| 2019 (73rd) | Santino Fontana | Tootsie | Michael Dorsey / Dorothy Michaels |
| 2019 (73rd) | Brooks Ashmanskas | The Prom | Barry Glickman |
| 2019 (73rd) | Derrick Baskin | Ain’t Too Proud | Otis Williams |
| 2019 (73rd) | Alex Brightman | Beetlejuice | Beetlejuice |
| 2019 (73rd) | Damon Daunno | Oklahoma! | Curly McLain |

### 2020s

| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Project | Ref. |
| 2020 (74th) |
| 2020 (74th) | Aaron Tveit | Moulin Rouge! | Christian | |
| 2021 | No ceremony | No ceremony | No ceremony | No ceremony |
| 2022 (75th) |
| 2022 (75th) | Myles Frost | MJ | MJ | |
| 2022 (75th) | Billy Crystal | Mr. Saturday Night | Buddy Young, Jr. | |
| 2022 (75th) | Hugh Jackman | The Music Man | Harold Hill | |
| 2022 (75th) | Rob McClure | Mrs. Doubtfire | Daniel Hillard | |
| 2022 (75th) | Jaquel Spivey | A Strange Loop | Usher | |
| 2023 (76th) | | | | |
| 2023 (76th) | J. Harrison Ghee | Some Like It Hot | Jerry/Daphne | |
| 2023 (76th) | Christian Borle | Some Like It Hot | Joe/Josephine | |
| 2023 (76th) | Josh Groban | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Sweeney Todd | |
| 2023 (76th) | Brian d'Arcy James | Into the Woods | The Baker | |
| 2023 (76th) | Ben Platt | Parade | Leo Frank | |
| 2023 (76th) | Colton Ryan | New York, New York | Jimmy Doyle | |
| 2024 (77th) |
| 2024 (77th) | Jonathan Groff | Merrily We Roll Along | Franklin Shepard | |
| 2024 (77th) | Brody Grant | The Outsiders | Ponyboy Curtis | |
| 2024 (77th) | Dorian Harewood | The Notebook | Older Noah Calhoun | |
| 2024 (77th) | Brian d'Arcy James | Days of Wine and Roses | Joe Clay | |
| 2024 (77th) | Eddie Redmayne | Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club | Emcee | |