See Olivier Awards for more information about the awards and a full list of categories and winners.

The Laurence Olivier Awards are a series of awards presented annually by The Society of London Theatre. They are presented in recognition of achievements in commercial British theatre, most notably plays and musicals in the West End

West End theatre

West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 of London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, an area commonly referred to as "Theatreland". The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards in 1976 and, in 1984 they were renamed in honour of the renowned British actor Lord Olivier. The Olivier Awards are the most prestigious theatrical awards in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and are the UK equivalent of the Tony Awards.

This list comprises the winners of the Most Promising Performer category shown in bold. Where possible other nominees will be shown in italics.
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• 2003 - Noel Clarke
  Noel Clarke
  Noel Anthony Clarke is an English actor, director and screenwriter from London. He is best known for playing Wyman Norris in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Mickey Smith in Doctor Who...
  
  for Where Do We Live at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court
  • Toby Dantzic for Where Do We Live at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court
  • Sam Heughan
    Sam Heughan
    Sam Heughan was born in New Galloway, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, in 1980. He is an actor who studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow....
    
     for Outlying Islands
    Outlying Islands (play)
    Outlying Islands is a play by David Greig, set on a remote Scottish island in the summer of 1939. Two ornithologists - young, impulsive and English Robert and the more conservative yet naive Scottish John - are sent to catalogue the bird colonies on the island...
    
    at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court
  • Sid Mitchell for The Dead Eye Boy at the Hampstead Theatre

• 2002 - Benjamin Davies
  Benjamin Davies (actor)
  Benjamin Davies , is a Laurence Olivier award winning actor.Davies grew up in Scotland, Devon, Cornwall, Sussex and London, he is of Welsh/Scots descent.- Education :...
  
  for Fucking Games
  • Jack Davenport
    Jack Davenport
    Jack Davenport is an English actor, best known for his roles in the television series This Life, Coupling and as James Norrington in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. He has also appeared in many other Hollywood films such as The Talented Mr. Ripley...
    
     for The Servant at the Lyric Hammersmith
  • Ralf Little
    Ralf Little
    Ralf Alistair J. B. Little is an English actor, writer and semi-professional footballer, working mainly in television comedy. He is best known for playing Antony Royle in The Royle Family and Jonny Keogh in the first six series of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.-Early life and work...
    
     for Presence at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court
  • Leah Muller for Six Characters Looking For An Author at the Young Vic