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The Triple Crown [1] or the Grand Slam [2] are terms used in the entertainment industry to describe individuals who have won the three highest accolades recognised in British film, television, and theatre: a British Academy Film Award, a British Academy Television Award, and a Laurence Olivier Award respectively.
Actor | Completed | Years to complete | BAFTA Film | BAFTA TV | Olivier | Total wins | Category | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Judi Dench | 1977 | 12 | 1966 | 1968 | 1977 | 17 [lower-alpha 1] | Acting | [3] |
Virginia McKenna | 1979 | 24 | 1957 | 1955 | 1979 | 3 | Acting | [4] |
Peggy Ashcroft | 1986 | 10 | 1986 | 1981 | 1976 | 4 [lower-alpha 2] | Acting | [5] |
Nigel Hawthorne | 1996 | 14 | 1996 | 1981 | 1992 | 8 | Acting | |
Alan Bennett | 1996 | 6 | 1996 | 1992 | 1990 | 6 | Writing / producing / acting | |
Julie Walters | 2002 | 18 | 1984 | 2002 | 2001 | 7 | Acting | |
Albert Finney | 2003 | 43 | 1961 | 2003 | 1986 | 3 | Acting | |
Kenneth Branagh | 2009 | 27 | 1990 | 2009 | 1982 | 5 [lower-alpha 3] | Acting / directing / producing | [6] |
Helen Mirren | 2013 | 21 | 2007 | 1992 | 2013 | 5 [lower-alpha 4] | Acting | [7] |
Mark Rylance | 2016 | 21 | 2016 | 2006 | 1994 | 5 | Acting | |
Stephen Daldry | 2022 | 29 | 2001 | 2022 | 1993 | 5 | Directing / producing |
Actor | 1st Award | 2nd Award | 3rd Award | Year span | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alec Guinness | 1958 | BAFTA Film | 1980 | BAFTA TV | 1988 | The Society Special Olivier | 30 |
Anthony Hopkins | 1973 | BAFTA TV | 1985 | Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement | 1992 | BAFTA Film | 19 |
Vanessa Redgrave | 1966 | BAFTA TV | 1984 | Olivier | 2010 | BAFTA Fellowship for Film contributions | 44 |
Maggie Smith | 1970 | BAFTA Film | 1996 | BAFTA Academy Fellowship | 2010 | The Society Special Olivier | 41 |
English actress Judi Dench (born 1934) completed the triple crown in 1977, becoming the first person to complete the British triple crown. She completed her second triple crown in 1986, her third triple crown in 1988, and her fourth in 2001. She is a 12-time BAFTA TV (4), 15-time BAFTA Film (6), and 15-time Olivier (7) nominee, for a total of 42 TC nominations. Dench has won seventeen awards.
Note: Dench is the only actor to complete multiple triple crowns of acting, on either the American or British side, and has completed four. She is the only person to have won more than 7 triple crown awards, on either the British or American side. She also holds the records (though tied) for most BAFTA TV nominations, most BAFTA Film nominations, and most BAFTA Film awards; Dench has also won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1999 for Shakespeare in Love and a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play in 1999 for Amy's View , but has yet to win an Emmy Award (after three nominations) to complete the American triple crown.
British stage and screen actress, author, animal rights activist, and wildlife campaigner Virginia McKenna (born 1931) completed the triple crown in 1979. McKenna has won three awards.
English actress Peggy Ashcroft (1907–1991) completed the triple crown in 1986. She won one competitive Olivier Award, two BAFTA TV Awards and one BAFTA Film Award. Ashcroft won four awards over a period of ten years.
Note: Ashcroft won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1985 for A Passage to India (a year before winning the BAFTA Film Award).
English actor Nigel Hawthorne (1929–2001) completed the triple crown in 1996. He is a 5-time BAFTA TV (5), 1-time BAFTA Film (1), and 2-time Olivier (1) nominee, for a total of 8 TC nominations. Hawthorne has won seven awards.
Note: Hawthorne has also been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1995 for The Madness of King George and won a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play in 1991 for Shadowlands , but he never won or was nominated for an Emmy Award.
English playwright, author, actor, and screenwriter Alan Bennett (born 1934) completed the triple crown in 1996. He is a 4-time BAFTA Film (1), 8-time BAFTA TV (1), and 7-time Olivier (5) nominee, for a total of 19 TC nominations. Bennett has won seven awards.
Note: Bennett has also been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1995 for The Madness of King George and won a Tony Award for Best Play in 2006 for The History Boys, but he never won or was nominated for an Emmy Award.
English actress Julie Walters (born 1950) completed the triple crown in 2002. She is a 7-time BAFTA TV (4), 6-time BAFTA Film (2), and 2-time Olivier (1) nominee, for a total of 11 TC nominations. Walters has won seven awards.
Note: Walters has also received an honorary BAFTA in 2003 and the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award in 2014. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1984 for Educating Rita and a second nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 2001 for Billy Elliot. She is the recipient of two International Emmy Awards for Best Performance by an Actress, but she has never won or been nominated for an Emmy Award.
English actor Albert Finney (1936–2019) completed the triple crown in 2003. He is a 4-time BAFTA TV (1), 9-time BAFTA Film (1), and 2-time Olivier (1) nominee, for a total of 15 TC nominations. Finney has won three awards.
Note: Finney has also won an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie in 2003 for The Gathering Storm and won two Tony Awards, but never won an Academy Award (after 5 nominations) to complete the American triple crown.
British actor and filmmaker Kenneth Branagh (born 1960) completed the triple crown in 2009. He's a 6-time BAFTA Film (2), 5-time BAFTA TV (2), and 6-time Olivier (1) nominee, for a total of 17 TC nominations. Branagh has won five awards.
Note: Branagh has also won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2022 for Belfast and won an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie in 2001 for Conspiracy and an International Emmy Award for Best Actor in 2017 for Wallander. He's also been nominated for a Grammy Award, but he has never won or been nominated for an Tony Award, to complete the American triple crown (for not winning an Academy Award for acting) or the EGOT.
English actor Helen Mirren (born 1945) completed the triple crown in 2013. She is a 6-time BAFTA TV (3), 5-time BAFTA Film (1), and 4-time Olivier (1) nominee, for a total of 15 TC nominations. Mirren has won five awards.
Note: Mirren is the only person to have also won the American Triple Crown of Acting by being awarded the three equivalent honors in the American entertainment industry: winning an Academy Award, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award.
British actor, playwright and theatre director Mark Rylance (born 1960) completed the triple crown in 2016. He is a 2-time BAFTA TV (2), 1-time BAFTA Film (1), and 8-time Olivier (2) nominee, for a total of 11 TC nominations. Rylance has won five awards.
Note: Rylance has also won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2016 for Bridge of Spies and won three Tony Awards, but has yet to win an Emmy Award (after one nomination) to complete the American triple crown.
English director and producer Stephen Daldry (born 1960) completed the triple crown in 2022. He won one competitive BAFTA Film Award, one BAFTA TV Award, and three Olivier Awards, for a total of 15 TC nominations. Daldry has won five awards.
Note: Daldry has also won two Primetime Emmy Awards for The Crown and won three Tony Awards. He has also been nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Director.
Three additional artists have received all three awards, though one was bestowed for an honorary or similar non-competitive distinction: Anthony Hopkins has no competitive Olivier Award, Vanessa Redgrave has no competitive BAFTA Film Award, and Maggie Smith has no competitive BAFTA TV Award or Olivier Award.
English actor Alec Guinness (1914-2000) completed the triple crown in 1988. He won one competitive BAFTA Film Award, two competitive BAFTA TV Awards and a non-competitive Olivier Award, for a total of 8 TC nominations. Guinness has won five awards.
Welsh actor, director, and producer Anthony Hopkins (born 1937) completed the triple crown in 1992. He won three competitive BAFTA Film Award, one BAFTA TV Award, and a non-competitive Olivier Award, for a total of 11 TC nominations. Hopkins has won six awards.
Note: Hopkins has also won two Academy Awards for Best Actor and won two Primetime Emmy Awards, but he has never won or been nominated for an Tony Award, to complete the American triple crown. He was also nominated for a competitive Laurence Olivier Award for Actor of the Year for Pravda in 1985.
English actress and activist Vanessa Redgrave (born 1937) completed the triple crown in 2010. She won one Olivier Award, one BAFTA TV Award, and a non-competitive BAFTA Film Award, for a total of 7 TC nominations. Redgrave has won three awards.
Note: Redgrave has also won the American Triple Crown of Acting by being awarded the three equivalent honors in the American entertainment industry: winning an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award.
English actress Maggie Smith (born 1934) completed the triple crown in 2010. She won five competitive BAFTA Film Awards, two non-competitive BAFTA TV Awards, and a non-competitive Olivier Award, for a total of 24 TC nominations. Smith has won eight awards.
Note: Smith has also won the American Triple Crown of Acting by being awarded the three equivalent honors in the American entertainment industry: winning two Academy Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award.
The following individuals have each won two out of the three major awards in competitive categories:
The following individuals have not won all three awards in competitive categories, but have received at least one nomination for each of them:
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The Triple Crown of Acting is a term used in the American entertainment industry to describe actors who have won a competitive Academy Award, Emmy Award, and Tony Award in the acting categories, the highest awards recognized in American film, television, and theater, respectively. The term is related to other competitive areas, such as the Triple Crown of horse racing.