# Laurence Olivier Award for Actor of the Year in a Revival

The Laurence Olivier Award for Actor of the Year in a Revival was an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards in 1976, and renamed in 1984 in honour of English actor and director Laurence Olivier.
This award was presented from 1976 to 1984, then in 1985 the award was combined with the Actor of the Year in a New Play award to create the Best Actor award. The original Actor of the Year in a Revival award returned one last time, for the 1988 ceremony.

## Winners and nominees
### 1970s

| Year | Actor | Play | Character |
| 1976 |
| 1976 | Alan Howard | Henry IV, Part 1 and 2 and Henry V | Prince Hal / Henry V of England |
| 1976 | Tom Conti | Don Juan and The Devil's Disciple | Don Juan / Dick Dudgeon |
| 1976 | Albert Finney | Hamlet and Tamburlaine the Great | Prince Hamlet / Tamburlaine |
| 1976 | Emrys James | Henry IV, Part 1 and 2 and Henry V | Henry IV of England / Chorus |
| 1977 |
| 1977 | Ian McKellen | Pillars of the Community | Karsten Bernick |
| 1977 | Alan Howard | Wild Oats | Rover |
| 1977 | Derek Jacobi | Hamlet | Prince Hamlet |
| 1977 | Donald Sinden | King Lear | King Lear |
| 1978 |
| 1978 | Alan Howard | Coriolanus | Gaius Marcius Coriolanus |
| 1978 | Derek Jacobi | Ivanov | Nikolai Ivanov |
| 1978 | Timothy West | The Homecoming | Max |
| 1978 | Nicol Williamson | Inadmissible Evidence | Bill Maitland |
| 1979 |
| 1979 | Warren Mitchell | Death of a Salesman | Willy Loman |
| 1979 | Michael Bryant | Strife | David Roberts |
| 1979 | Jonathan Pryce | The Taming of the Shrew | Petruchio |
| 1979 | Patrick Stewart | The Merchant of Venice | Shylock |

### 1980s

| Year | Actor | Play | Character |
| 1980 |
| 1980 | Jonathan Pryce | Hamlet | Prince Hamlet |
| 1980 | Michael Gambon | The Life of Galileo | Galileo |
| 1980 | Alec McCowen | The Browning Version and Harlequinade | Andrew Crocker-Harris / Arthur Gosport |
| 1980 | Bob Peck | Othello | Iago |
| 1981 |
| 1981 | Daniel Massey | Man and Superman | Jack Tanner |
| 1981 | Warren Mitchell | The Caretaker | Davies |
| 1981 | David Suchet | The Merchant of Venice | Shylock |
| 1981 | John Wood | The Provoked Wife | Brute |
| 1982 |
| 1982 | Stephen Moore | A Doll's House | Torvold Helmer |
| 1982 | Joss Ackland | Henry IV, Part 1 and 2 | Falstaff |
| 1982 | Trevor Peacock | Hobson's Choice | Henry Horatio Hobson |
| 1982 | Donald Sinden | Uncle Vanya | Vanya |
| 1983 |
| 1983 | Derek Jacobi | Cyrano de Bergerac | Cyrano de Bergerac |
| 1983 | Alan Bates | A Patriot for Me | Alfred Redl |
| 1983 | Rex Harrison | Heartbreak House | Shotover |
| 1983 | Bob Peck | King Lear | Lear |
| 1984 |
| 1984 | Ian McKellen | Wild Honey | Platonov |
| 1984 | Miles Anderson | Life Is a Dream | Sigismund |
| 1984 | Emrys James | A New Way to Pay Old Debts | Sir Giles |
| 1984 | Peter McEnery | The Devils | De Laubardemont |
| 1988 |
| 1988 | Brian Cox | Titus Andronicus | Titus Andronicus |
| 1988 | Alun Armstrong | The Jew of Malta and The Father | Barabas / The Captain |
| 1988 | Antony Sher | The Merchant of Venice and Hello and Goodbye | Shylock / Johnnie |
| 1988 | Tom Wilkinson | An Enemy of the People | Dr. Stockmann |