While several awards celebrate the best performances in theater (the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards, for example), none are as coveted by performers as the Tony Awards. Presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, the Tony Awards honor the best lead and supporting male and female performers in plays and musicals each year. Audra McDonald holds the record for most wins (6) and is tied with Julie Harris and Chita Rivera for the most nominations (10). Some performers have been lucky enough to win their first and only nomination, while others have been nominated multiple times without a win.
Five Broadway actors and actresses listed here have garnered at least four Tony nominations without securing a victory. There remains hope for some, as exemplified by Danny Burstein, who clinched his first Tony in 2020 for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Moulin Rouge! This win came after five unsuccessful attempts at the prestigious award.
1. John McMartin
A legendary Broadway performer and veteran of the United States Army, John McMartin first performed on Broadway in 1961 in The Conquering Hero. Eventually, he appeared in more than 25 productions, including Don Juan (1972), The Rules of the Game (1974), High Society (1998), Into the Woods (2002), and Anything Goes (2011). He also has dozens of film and TV credits, including All the President’s Men (1976), Who’s That Girl (1987), and Falcon Crest (1985). He died in 2016 at 86.
McMartin won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance in 1973 for both Don Juan and The Great God Brown and earned five Tony nominations, including Best Featured Actor in a Play for Don Juan. He was also nominated twice for the Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Sweet Charity and High Society) and twice for Best Actor in a Musical (Into the Woods and Show Boat).
2. Jan Maxwell
Jan Maxwell is perhaps one of the most distinguished and versatile performers to have never won a Tony. She is among the few actresses nominated in the four Tony acting categories and was nominated for the Featured Actress in a Play (Lend Me a Tenor) and Leading Actress in a Play (The Royal Family) in the same year. She lost in both categories in 2010. Maxwell was also runner-up for Featured Actress in a Musical in 2005 for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Featured Actress in a Play for Coram Boy in 2007, and Outstanding Actress in a Musical for Follies in 2012.
However, Maxwell won Drama Desk Awards for her performances in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Royal Family. She also appeared in Dancing at Lughnasa, which won the Tony for Best Play in 1992. Her other stage credits include The Sound of Music and The King and I. Maxwell died at 61 in February 2018.
3. Laura Linney
Despite widespread industry acclaim for her acting, Laura Linney is 0-for-5 in Tony nominations and 0-for-3 in Academy Award nominations. The 59-year-old leading lady has been nominated five times in the Best Leading Actress in a Play category, first for The Crucible (2002) and again for Sight Unseen (2005), Time Stands Still (2010), The Little Foxes (2017), and My Name Is Lucy Barton (2020). She was nominated for Best Actress Oscars for You Can Count on Me (2001) and The Savages (2007) and the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Kinsey (2004).
Linney hasn’t been completely shut out from major awards, however. She has won four Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes, and two Drama Desk Awards.
4. Raúl Esparza
Like Maxwell, Raúl Esparza has earned Tony nominations in the four acting categories. While he has yet to win, he does have three Drama Desk Awards. Esparza received his first Tony nomination for Featured Actor in a Musical for Taboo (2004) and subsequently earned nominations for performances in Company (2007), The Homecoming (2008), and Speed-the-Plow (2009). He has appeared in more than two dozen Broadway and off-Broadway productions and TV series such as Pushing Daisies, Hannibal, and The Path.
5. Condola Rashad
Condola Rashad might be 0-for-4 in Tony nominations, but the 36-year-old actress, the daughter of two-time Tony winner Phylicia Rashad, is the youngest performer to earn that many nominations. A California Institute of the Arts graduate, Rashad received her first of three Best Featured Actress in a Play nominations for Stick Fly (2011). She was also nominated for the award in 2013 and 2017 for The Trip to Bountiful and A Doll’s House, Part 2, respectively. Rashad earned a nomination for Best Actress in a Play for her role in Saint Joan (2018), where she portrayed Joan of Arc.