Bryan Cranston Wins His Second Tony Award: 'Finally, a Straight Old White Man Gets a Break!'
Bryan Cranston is taking another one home!
The celebrated actor won the 2019 Tony Award for best actor in a play at the ceremony on Sunday night. Cranston has been earning rave reviews for his performance in Broadway’s Network, in which he stars opposite Tatiana Maslany.
“Finally, a straight old white man gets a break,” Cranston said as he took the stage to accept his award to the audience’s delight.
Backstage, Cranston, 63, elaborated on his sentiment. “Who wants to keep working with old white men? That’s boring,” he said to journalists. “And the stories are old and stale to me.”
Referencing the diverse winners of the night, Cranston added, “I embrace and rejoice in what’s happening here. This is a siren call to the rest of the country.”
Cranston stars as fictional TV news anchorman Howard Beale in Network. The play uses the audience throughout the show to blur the lines between fact and fiction, although Cranston made it clear that he stood with journalists while seemingly taking a dig at the Trump administration during his speech.
“The media is not the enemy of the people. Demagoguery is the enemy of the people,” Cranston passionately said.
Cranston previously won a Tony in 2014 in the same category for his portrayal of Lyndon B. Johnson in the play All the Way.
Network also counts celebrities as fans, including Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban who attended earlier this year. The married couple turned the outing into a cozy date night, while Kidman praised Cranston and Maslany for their performances.
RELATED: Date Night! Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban Cozy Up at Bryan Cranston’s Broadway Show Network
“Thank you Bryan, Tatiana and the whole cast for a riveting and arresting night of great theater. Xx,” Kidman wrote on Instagram.
The 73rd Tony Awards aired live on CBS Sunday night.
