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George Clooney earns first Tony Award nod amid starry nominees list filled with shock snubs

George Clooney earns first Tony Award nod amid starry nominees list filled with shock snubs

George Clooney has earned his first Tony Award nod, amid a star-studded list of nominees that contains a slew of shock snubs.

Clooney, 63, made his Broadway debut this year in the play Good Night, And Good Luck, an adaptation of his acclaimed 2005 historical drama of the same name, which he both acted in and directed. 

Now his latest creative venture has borne fruit, with Clooney prominently featured in the lineup of nominees that was unveiled by Tony winners Wendell Pierce and Sarah Paulson this Thursday on CBS Mornings. 

Pussycat Dolls alum Nicole Scherzinger also landed her first Tony nod thanks to her role as unhinged faded movie star Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd., a revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical adapted from the classic 1950 movie.

Audra McDonald, record holder for the most Tonys by a performer – with six – has earned another nomination for her turn as Rose in a hailed revival of Gypsy, a role that led to previous Tonys for the likes of Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly and Patti LuPone. 

Meanwhile a number of boldface names were strikingly left out, including Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal for a modernized revival of Shakespeare’s Othello.

George Clooney has earned his first Tony Award nod, thanks to his performance as Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, And Good Luck; pictured on opening night of the show

George Clooney has earned his first Tony Award nod, thanks to his performance as Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, And Good Luck; pictured on opening night of the show

The Tony Awards will be handed out June 8 at Radio City Music Hall during a telecast hosted by Wicked star and Tony winner Cynthia Erivo.

Good Night, And Good Luck, set in the McCarthy Era, stars Clooney in the role of news anchor Edward R. Murrow, who was portrayed in the film by David Strathairn.

Read More George Clooney’s British wife warned she could be BANNED from the US by Donald Trump article image

Clooney’s fellow nominees for best lead actor in a play include Louis McCartney for Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a spin-off of the smash hit Netflix series.

Their compeтιтors are Cole Escola, who stars as Mary Todd Lincoln in the comic play Oh, Mary! that he also wrote, as well as Daniel Day Kim for Yellow Face, Harry Lennix and Jon Michael Hill for the Pulitzer-winning Purpose.

Best actress in a play is also a formidable category, containing such names as Mia Farrow for her play The Roommate starring her alongside Patti LuPone.

She is up against Succession star Sarah Snook, who plays all 26 roles in The Picture Of Dorian Gray, and Stranger Things actress Sadie Sink, who is part of the cast of John Proctor Is The Villain, a feminist tweak on Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.

LaTanya Richardson Jackson for Purpose and Laura Donnelly for The Hills Of California complete the best actress in a play nominees.

Meanwhile Nicole Scherzinger and Audra McDonald are facing off for best actress in a musical, along with Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard in Death Becomes Her, Jasmine Amy Rogers in the Betty Boop musical Boop!.

Pussycat Dolls alum Nicole Scherzinger also landed her first Tony nod thanks to her role as unhinged faded movie star Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd

Pussycat Dolls alum Nicole Scherzinger also landed her first Tony nod thanks to her role as unhinged faded movie star Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd

Meanwhile a number of boldface names were strikingly left out, including Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal for a modernized revival of Shakespeare's Othello; pictured opening night

Meanwhile a number of boldface names were strikingly left out, including Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal for a modernized revival of Shakespeare’s Othello; pictured opening night

(from left) Bill Burr, Kieran Culkin and Bob Odenkirk were all snubbed for Tony nominations for their revival of David Mamet's classic Glengarry Glen Ross; pictured opening night

(from left) Bill Burr, Kieran Culkin and Bob Odenkirk were all snubbed for Tony nominations for their revival of David Mamet’s classic Glengarry Glen Ross; pictured opening night

Glee star Darren Criss is up for best actor in a musical for the android rom-com Maybe Happy Ending, amid such names as Jonathan Groff for Just In Time, Andrew Durand for ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Outlaw, James Monroe Iglehart for A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical and Jeremy Jordan for Floyd Collins.

The best musical category includes Maybe Happy Ending, the comedy about frenemies Death Becomes Her – adapted from a cult classic movie starring Goldie Hawn and Meryl Streep – and the corpse-centered ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Outlaw.

Also featured in that category are the  immigrant tale Buena Vista Social Club and the British farce Operation Mincemeat.

The nominees for best new play included the loony bio of Abraham Lincoln’s wife Oh, Mary!, the drawing-room drama Purpose and John Proctor Is the Villain.

Rounding out the category were the Pulitzer Prize-winning English and the British period drama The Hills Of California.

Katie Holmes and The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons also failed to net nods for their revival of the beloved 1930s Thornton Wilder play Our Town; the pair are pictured backstage

Katie Holmes and The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons also failed to net nods for their revival of the beloved 1930s Thornton Wilder play Our Town; the pair are pictured backstage 

Notably, Clooney’s Good Night, And Good Luck – the first straight play to gross over $3 million in a week – failed to land a nomination in that slot.

A string of high-profile names were notably snubbed, including but not limited to Denzel Washington as the тιтle character in Othello and Jake Gyllenhaal as Iago.

Rachel Zegler, woke star of the controversial new live-action Snow White remake, was also pᴀssed over for her lead role in the Generation Z-oriented Romeo + Juliet.

So were Nick Jonas and Sutton Foster for respective revivals of The Last Five Years and Once Upon A Mattress, and Robert Downey Jr. for the AI-themed McNeal. 

David Mamet’s classic play Glengarry Glen Ross was also recently revived with Succession star and new Oscar-winner Kieran Culkin, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul actor Bob Odenkirk and comic Bill Burr – none of whom is up for a Tony this year.

Katie Holmes and The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons also failed to net nods for their revival of the beloved 1930s Thornton Wilder play Our Town.

Tina Landau, a Tony-nominated director, playwright and lyricist, wasn’t able to see any shows this season for a very good reason. She had two shows – Floyd Collins and Redwood – open months from each other.

‘I’m very glad that there´s so much work,’ she says. ‘I feel like when you have a season this big, there´s room for everyone and everything. Some are apples and some are pears and some are bananas and some are peaches. I just feel very blessed to have had two works that matter to me so much open at the same time, or open ever at all.’

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