Jodie Comer will now be able to add the Tony Awards to her pretty impressive resume. At the 76th annual Tony Awards ceremony on Sunday night, the 30-year-old actress won the best performance by an actress in a leading role in a play called Prima Facie.
The other nominees she beat out for the award were Jessica Hecht for Summer, 1976, Jessica Chastain for A Doll’s House, and Audra McDonald for Ohio State Murders. In Prima Facie, Comer is onstage solo where she plays the role of Tessa Ensler. Tessa is a barrister who defends those who have been accused of sexual assault- but then finds herself on the other side of the law, where she is seeking justice as a victim of rape.
Jodie Comer Wins Tony For Prima Facie
Talking about her role, Jodie Comer did express that Ensler was the greatest teacher that she could find, and also thanked playwright, Susie Miller, for writing such a poignant piece of work. When she was taking the stage to receive the award, everyone could see that she was a little emotional as she also thanked the producers of the play, the crew members, and expressed that this had been the greatest honor of her life. For those unaware, Comer has already won an Olivier Award for best actress after she debuted in the West End production overseas.
Interestingly, Jodie Comer had to cut her appearance in the play short during the matinee performance last Wednesday after the show had started. Quite a few outlets reported that the actor had talked about difficulty in breathing during New York City’s air quality alert. Variety also reported that Comer had informed the audience that she couldn’t breathe before a stage manager ushered her off the stage and an understudy had to take her place for the remainder of the show.
