Royal Shakespeare Company veteran Richard McCabe has won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of former Prime Minister Harold Wilson in The Audience.
The Glasgow-born actor, whose many credits with the RSC include Twelfth Night, Othello, The Taming Of The Shrew and The Winter’s Tale, collected the award for his performance opposite Dame Helen Mirren, which was described by the Daily Telegraph’s Charles Spencer as “wonderful” and The Times’ Libby Purves as “superb”.
McCabe plays Wilson in the Peter Morgan-penned drama that delves into what might have been said during 60 years of secret meetings between Queen Elizabeth II and her many Prime Ministers. Though it is widely known that these weekly meetings took place, their content is shrouded in secrecy; a mystery even to the pair’s own partners.
Speaking backstage after collecting his award, McCabe described his reaction to hearing his name called out, saying: “I wasn’t expecting to feel so emotional, that’s the odd thing. You look out [into the auditorium] and you see all those people out there and you think ‘Oh I’m such a con’. It’s just a bit shocking really and I genuinely hadn’t prepared anything to say. But it’s lovely, it’s really nice.”
Talking about his cast member Helen Mirren, the actor described her as “ an absolute delight,” adding: “She really is a joy to work with and it’s her play really, we’re only there because of her. It’s been fantastic, the audiences love it and we love doing it for them.”
In collecting the coveted statuette, McCabe triumphed over tough opposition from previous winner Adrian Scarborough (Hedda Gabler), London stage stalwart Paul Chahidi (Twelfth Night) and rising star Kyle Soller (Long Day’s Journey Into Night).
