Sarah Snook celebrates her first Tony Award win for 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'

The Succession Emmy winner makes her Broadway debut with the play on the heels of winning an Olivier Award in London for playing the solo show's 26 characters.

Sarah Snook is a natural theatre kid, even though most audiences know her for her work on TV. Since winning an Emmy Award for playing Shiv Roy on HBO's Succession, she's won an Olivier Award for appearing in The Picture of Dorian Gray in London's West End — not just in the title role, but 25 others.

And for making her Broadway debut with the show's NYC transfer, Snook is now a 2025 Tony Award winner for Best Leading Actress in a Play. Kip Williams, who directed and adapted this version of Oscar Wilde's novel, has Snook running around, doing quick changes, and acting opposite a slew of camera operators, plus projections of her own pre-recorded self. It's no easy feat, and in the Tonys press room following her win, Snook shared that, like any actor, there were times whether she felt like she couldn't push forward.

But the "little voice" in her head asked, "'What else are you going to do?'" Snook said. Acting is a challenge she loves: "I know that I wouldn't be happy doing anything else."

Hear more of what Snook had to say following her win below!

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How does it feel to be recognized for your Broadway debut?

It's always been a dream. I think it is for any actor, wherever you're from — if you want to do a play, you want to do it on Broadway. It's part of every story, every show, every dream, and to be here myself, it's amazing. And to be welcomed in by the community on Broadway has been such a surprise, and something I didn't know existed.

What has your experience in the Broadway community been like?

I didn't know this Tonys season thing existed, so you end up seeing all the people who have been nominated against you or with you, or other shows and at different awards ceremonies, and it's really nice because you get to meet the person who's creating art on the same night as you are eight shows a week. There's something really special about seeing — "It's five to seven, okay, places," and standing there and going like, "That's cool. Jonathan Groff's doing that too, and LaTanya [Richardson Jackson] is doing that, and Jak Malone." Everyone's about to step out and tell our stories.

What's a moment of kindness that shaped you?

I am the beneficiary of many acts of kindness, of people just showing up for me and advocating for me and having my back. The first person that comes to mind, really, is a drama teacher I had when I was in high school, affectionately called Jeff, and he just knew I had an interest in acting and supported that with with the kind of equanimity and grace as a good teacher would and should. I really appreciate his words of kindness and encouragement to do the shows that we did together, and then also to audition to drama school when I was graduating from high school. He said, "You should do it as an acting lesson, rather than as an attempt to get into the drama school, because they don't take people who are graduated from high school, who are 18, but just go and have no expectations." It was really important to hear that.

How do you hope this Tony win inspires your daughter, not just in the arts, but in pursuing her own dreams?

It's a thing all working moms and fathers have: The hope is that by pursuing your dreams and also the ways that you can remain present with your family, you encourage your children, the people who you love most in the world, to also remember who they are and who they want to be when they grow up, and that it is okay to pursue that. She might want to go into the arts. Sure, if that's what you want to do, then great.

Can we anticipate that you will be reprising your role in the announced film adaptation, or do you consider this the end of your journey with the piece?

Oh, I have no idea. I know as much as you do in terms of where that is. I don't know how this gets turned into a film. It's a particularly complex piece to do as a theatre show. Dramaturgically, it holds up, and Kip would be an incredible director for that project, and if I got to be a part of that, that would be a dream come true, but who knows.

The Succession cast is having great awards success this year. Are you all celebrating in a group chat?

What we haven't done is much taunting of awards and photos. It's such a special group chat, because Juliana [Canfield] did a show [...] Sydney [Lemmon] was doing a show, and then Zoë [Winters] did a show, Walden last year. It's a really special group of people, and we're all probably theatre nerds deep down, and so it's been nice to have that revealed and share with each other.

Get The Picture of Dorian Gray tickets now.

Photo credit: Sarah Snook in The Picture of Dorian Gray. (Photos by Marc Brenner)