The 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress has been awarded to Kristin Scott Thomas (pictured, right) for the role of Arkadina in the Royal Court’s production of Chekhov’s The Seagull at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs.
The production, which ran from 18 January to 17 February 2007, co-starred Chiwetel Ejiofor, who has just received this year’s Best Actor award for his performance in Othello at the Donmar Warehouse. Thomas fought off stiff competition this year from her fellow nominees Anne-Marie Duff (Saint Joan), Kelly Reilly (Othello), Fiona Shaw (Happy Days) and Penelope Wilton (John Gabriel Borkman).
This is the first Laurence Olivier Award win for Scott Thomas. In 2004 she was nominated for her role in another of Chekhov’s plays, Three Sisters, but lost out to Eileen Atkins for her performance in Honour at the National.
Accepting her award, Scott Thomas thanked director Ian Rickson and playwright Christopher Hampton, who adapted Chekhov's The Seagull for the Royal Court. Speaking to Official London Theatre she added: "It’s fantastic. It’s just such a privilege to be able to play this part in the first place. Chekhov is the playwright I know best; I’ve only done four plays, so he’s the one I’ve most experience of. I love Chekov!"
After moving to Paris at the age of 19 from her home in Cornwall, she made her theatre debut in 1983 in La Lune Déclinante Sur 4 Ou 5 Personnes Qui Dansent at the French festival in Semur en Auxois. It was another 18 years before she appeared on the London stage in Three Sisters at the Playhouse in 2003. This was followed in 2005 by As You Desire Me, also at the Playhouse. Better known for her work in film, she has won two BAFTAs and received an Academy Award nomination for her role in The English Patient. Her numerous successful films also include Four Weddings And A Funeral and Gosford Park.
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