Taking center stage! Kevin Spacey will host the 71st Annual Tony Awards, organizers announced on Tuesday, April 18.
“I was their 2nd choice for Usual Suspects, 4th choice for American Beauty and 15th choice to host this year’s Tony Awards,” the two-time Oscar-winner joked in a statement on Tuesday. “Maybe I can get shortlisted to host the Oscars if everyone else turns it down.”
Organizers said they were “thrilled” to have the actor host Broadway’s biggest night. Charlotte St.Martin, president of the Broadway League, and Heather Hitchens, president of the American Theatre Wing, said in a joint statement: “We are thrilled to have Kevin, who has mastered the Broadway stage, the big and small screens and the West End, host this year’s Tony Awards. His spirit and passion for live theatre makes him the perfect host, and we can’t wait to see the energy he brings to Radio City on Tony night!”
In addition to picking up a Best Actor Tony for his role in Lost in Yonkers in 1991, Spacey also helmed London’s esteemed theater the Old Vic for 10 years as artistic director and star of many of their productions.
Spacey inherits the hosting gig from Late Late Show Host James Corden, who will be filming his show in London in early June. Nominations for the 2017 Tony Awards will be announced on May 2.
