Triple Crown (UK entertainment)

The Triple Crown or the Grand Slam 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.

Summary

• The year in the BAFTA Film, BAFTA TV, and Olivier columns indicates the year the actor first won the award
• For the BAFTA TV and Olivier this is the year of the award ceremony, for the BAFTA Film the year when the film was released
• The total wins column indicates the total number of competitive BAFTA and Olivier wins

Actor	Completed	Years to complete	BAFTA Film	BAFTA TV	Olivier	Total competitive wins	Total Wins	Category	Ref.
Judi Dench	1977	12	1966	1968	1977	17	19	Acting
Virginia McKenna	1979	24	1957	1955	1979	3	3	Acting
Peggy Ashcroft	1986	10	1986	1981	1976	4	5	Acting
Nigel Hawthorne	1996	14	1996	1981	1992	8	8	Acting
Alan Bennett	1996	29	1996	1967	1990	8	9	Writing / producing / acting
Julie Walters	2002	18	1984	2002	2001	7	9	Acting
Albert Finney	2003	43	1961	2003	1986	3	4	Acting
Kenneth Branagh	2009	27	1990	2009	1982	5	7	Acting / directing / producing
Helen Mirren	2013	21	2007	1992	2013	5	6	Acting
Mark Rylance	2016	21	2016	2006	1994	5	5	Acting
Stephen Daldry	2022	29	2001	2022	1993	5	5	Directing / producing

Non-competitive Triple Crown recipients

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

Triple Crown winners

Judi Dench

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 nineteen awards.

• British Academy Film Awards

1. 1966: Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles – Four in the Morning
2. 1987: Best Actress in a Supporting Role – A Room with a View
3. 1989: Best Actress in a Supporting Role – A Handful of Dust
4. 1998: Best Actress in a Leading Role – Mrs Brown
5. 1999: Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Shakespeare in Love
6. 2001: BAFTA Fellowship (non-competitive)
7. 2002: Best Actress in a Leading Role – Iris

• British Academy Television Awards

1. 1968: Best Actress – Talking to a Stranger
2. 1982: Best Actress – Going Gently, A Fine Romance (Series 1), and The Cherry Orchard
3. 1985: Best Light Entertainment Performance – A Fine Romance (Series 4)
4. 2001: Best Actress – The Last of the Blonde Bombshells

• Laurence Olivier Awards

1. 1977: Actress of the Year in a Revival – Macbeth
2. 1980: Actress of the Year in a Revival – Juno and the Paycock
3. 1983: Actress of the Year in a New Play – Pack of Lies
4. 1987: Best Actress – Antony and Cleopatra
5. 1996: Best Actress – Absolute Hell
6. 1996: Best Actress in a Musical – A Little Night Music
7. 2004: Society of London Theatre Special Award (non-competitive)
8. 2016: Best Actress in a Supporting Role – The Winter's Tale

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 seven 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 a 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. She has also been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards (short of completing the American triple crown).

Virginia McKenna

British stage and screen actress, author, animal rights activist, and wildlife campaigner Virginia McKenna (born 1931) completed the triple crown in 1979. She is a 2-time BAFTA Film (1), 2-time BAFTA TV (1) and 1-time Olivier Award (1) nominee, with a total of 5 TC nominations. McKenna has won three awards.

• British Academy Film Awards

1. 1957: Best British Actress – A Town Like Alice

• British Academy Television Awards

1. 1955: Best Actress

• Laurence Olivier Awards

1. 1979: Best Actress in a Musical – The King and I

Note: McKenna has never been nominated for an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, or an Tony Award to compete for the American triple crown.

Peggy Ashcroft

English actress Peggy Ashcroft (1907–1991) completed the triple crown in 1986. She is a 4-time BAFTA Film (1), 5-time BAFTA TV (2) and 1-time Olivier (1) nominee, with a total of 10 TC nominations. Ashcroft has a total of five awards.

• British Academy Film Awards

1. 1986: Best Actress in a Leading Role – A Passage to India

• British Academy Television Awards

1. 1981: Best Actress – Cream in My Coffee and Caught on a Train
2. 1985: Best Actress – The Jewel in the Crown

• Laurence Olivier Awards

1. 1976: Actress of the Year in a New Play – Old World
2. 1991: Society of London Theatre Special Award (non-competitive)

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). She was also nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, but never nominated for a Tony Award to complete the American triple crown.

Nigel Hawthorne

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 5-time Olivier (2) nominee, for a total of 11 TC nominations. Hawthorne has won eight awards.

• British Academy Film Awards

1. 1996: Best Actor in a Leading Role – The Madness of King George

• British Academy Television Awards

1. 1982: Best Light Entertainment Performance – Yes Minister
2. 1983: Best Light Entertainment Performance – Yes Minister
3. 1987: Best Light Entertainment Performance – Yes, Prime Minister
4. 1988: Best Light Entertainment Performance - Yes, Prime Minister
5. 1997: Best Actor – The Fragile Heart

• Laurence Olivier Awards

1. 1977: Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Privates on Parade
2. 1992: Best Actor – The Madness of George III

Note: Hawthorne had also been nominated for a 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 never been nominated for any Emmy Award to complete the American triple crown.

Alan Bennett

English playwright, author, actor, and screenwriter Alan Bennett (born 1934) completed the triple crown in 1996. He is a 4-time BAFTA Film (1), 10-time BAFTA TV (3), and 6-time Olivier (4) nominee, for a total of 20 TC nominations. Bennett has won nine awards.

• British Academy Film Awards

1. 1996: Outstanding British Film – The Madness of King George

• British Academy Television Awards

1. 1967: Best Light Entertainment Performance
2. 1968: Best Light Entertainment Performance
3. 1992: Best Single Drama – Screen Two: A Question of Attribution

• Laurence Olivier Awards

1. 1990: Comedy of the Year – Single Spies
2. 1992: Best Entertainment – Talking Heads
3. 1992: Best Actor in a Musical – Talking Heads
4. 2005: Best New Play – The History Boys
5. 2005: Society of London Theatre Special Award (non-competitive)

Note: Bennett has also been nominated for a 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. He was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Performance in 1963 for Beyond the Fringe, but he has never been nominated for any Emmy Award to complete the EGOT.

Julie Walters

English actress Julie Walters (born 1950) completed the triple crown in 2002. She is a 9-time BAFTA TV (4), 6-time BAFTA Film (2), and 4-time Olivier (1) nominee, for a total of 19 TC nominations. Walters has won nine awards.

• British Academy Film Awards

1. 1984: Best Actress in a Leading Role – Educating Rita
2. 2001: Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Billy Elliot

• British Academy Television Awards

1. 2002: Best Actress – My Beautiful Son
2. 2003: Best Actress – Murder
3. 2003: Special Award (Non-competitive)
4. 2004: Best Actress – The Canterbury Tales
5. 2010: Best Actress – Mo
6. BAFTA Fellowship (non-competitve)

• Laurence Olivier Awards

1. 2001: Best Actress – All My Sons

Note: Walters has also received an honorary BAFTA in 2003 and the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award in 2014. She was nominated for a 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 been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.

Albert Finney

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 four awards.

• British Academy Film Awards

1. 1961: Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles – Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
2. 2001: BAFTA Fellowship (non-competitive)

• British Academy Television Awards

1. 2003: Best Actor – The Gathering Storm

• Laurence Olivier Awards

1. 1986: Best Actor – Orphans

Note: Finney also won a 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.

Kenneth Branagh

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 seven awards.

• British Academy Film Awards

1. 1990: Best Direction – Henry V
2. 1994: Michael Balcon Award (non-competitive)
3. 2022: Outstanding British Film – Belfast

• British Academy Television Awards

1. 2009: Best Drama Series – Wallander
2. 2010: Best Leading Actor – Wallander

• Laurence Olivier Awards

1. 1982: Most Promising Newcomer of the Year in Theatre – Another Country
2. 2017: Society of London Theatre Award (non-competitive)

Note: Branagh also won a Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2022 for Belfast and won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie in 2001 for Conspiracy and a International Emmy Award for Best Actor in 2017 for Wallander. He was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Album in 1995 for Hamlet, but he has never been nominated for a Tony Award, to complete the American triple crown (for not winning a Academy Award for acting) or the EGOT.

Helen Mirren

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 six awards.

• British Academy Film Awards

1. 2007: Best Actress in a Leading Role – The Queen
2. 2014: BAFTA Fellowship (non-competitive)

• British Academy Television Awards

1. 1991: Best Actress – Prime Suspect: The Scent of Darkness
2. 1992: Best Actress – Prime Suspect 2
3. 1993: Best Actress – Prime Suspect 3

• Laurence Olivier Awards

1. 2013: Best Actress – The Audience

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 a Academy Award, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award.

Mark Rylance

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.

• British Academy Film Awards

1. 2016: Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Bridge of Spies

• British Academy Television Awards

1. 2006: Best Actor – The Government Inspector
2. 2016: Best Leading Actor – Wolf Hall

• Laurence Olivier Awards

1. 1994: Best Actor – Much Ado About Nothing
2. 2010: Best Actor – Jerusalem

Note: Rylance has also won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2016 for Bridge of Spies and won three Tony Awards. He has been nominated for one Primetime Emmy Award (short of completing the American triple crown).

Stephen Daldry

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.

• British Academy Film Awards

1. 2001: Outstanding British Film – Billy Elliot

• British Academy Television Awards

1. 2022: Best Single Drama – Together

• Laurence Olivier Awards

1. 1993: Best Director of a Play – An Inspector Calls
2. 1994: Best Director of a Play – Machinal
3. 2019: Best Director – The Inheritance

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.

Non-competitive Triple Crown

Four additional artists have received all three awards, though one was bestowed for an honorary or similar non-competitive distinction: Alec Guinness has no competitive Olivier Award, 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.

Alec Guinness

English actor Alec Guinness (1914–2000) completed the triple crown in 1988. He is a 3-time BAFTA Film (1), 3-time BAFTA TV (2) and 2-time Olivier Award nominee (0), for a total of 8 TC nominations. Guinness has won five awards.

• British Academy Film Awards

1. 1958: Best British Actor – The Bridge on the River Kwai
2. 1989: BAFTA Fellowship Award (non-competitive)

• British Academy Television Awards

1. 1980: Best Actor – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
2. 1983: Best Actor – Smiley's People

• Laurence Olivier Awards

1. 1988: Society of London Theatre Special Award (non-competitive)

Note: Guinness also won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1958 for The Bridge on the River Kwai and the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play in 1964 for Dylan. He was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Grammy Awards (short of completing the American triple crown and the EGOT). He was also nominated for two competitive Laurence Olivier Award for Actor of the Year for The Old Country in 1977 and for A Walk in the Woods in 1988.

Anthony Hopkins

Welsh actor, director, and producer Anthony Hopkins (born 1937) completed the triple crown in 1992. He is a 7-time BAFTA Film (3), 2-time BAFTA TV (1) and 1-time Olivier Award (0) nominee, for a total of 10 TC nominations. Hopkins has won six awards.

• British Academy Film Awards

1. 1992: Best Actor in a Leading Role – The Silence of the Lambs
2. 1994: Best Actor in a Leading Role – The Remains of the Day
3. 2008: BAFTA Fellowship Award (non-competitive)
4. 2021: Best Actor in a Leading Role – The Father

• British Academy Television Awards

1. 1973: Best Actor – War & Peace

• Laurence Olivier Awards

1. 1985: The Observer Award for Outstanding Achievement – Pravda (non-competitive)

Note: Hopkins has also won two Academy Awards for Best Actor and won two Primetime Emmy Awards, but he has never been nominated for a 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.

Vanessa Redgrave

English actress and activist Vanessa Redgrave (born 1937) completed the triple crown in 2010. She is a 2-time BAFTA Film (0), 2-time BAFTA TV (1) and 4-time Olivier Award nominee, with a total of 8 TC nominations. Redgrave has won three awards.

• British Academy Film Awards

1. 2010: BAFTA Fellowship Award (non-competitive)

• British Academy Television Awards

1. 1966: Best Actress

• Laurence Olivier Awards

1. 1984: Actress of the Year in a Revival – The Aspern Papers

Note: Redgrave has also won the American Triple Crown of Acting by being awarded the three equivalent honors in the American entertainment industry: winning a Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. She was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children in 2002 for Oscar Wilde: The Selfish Giant & The Nightingale and the Rose (short of completing the EGOT).

Maggie Smith

English actress Maggie Smith (1934–2024) completed the triple crown in 2010. She is a 13-time BAFTA Film (5), 5-time BAFTA TV (0) and 6-time Olivier Award nominee (0), with a total of 24 TC nominations. Smith has won eight awards.

• British Academy Film Awards

1. 1970: Best Actress in a Leading Role – The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
2. 1985: Best Actress in a Leading Role – A Private Function
3. 1987: Best Actress in a Leading Role – A Room with a View
4. 1989: Best Actress in a Leading Role – The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne
5. 2000: Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Tea with Mussolini

• British Academy Television Awards

1. 1993: BAFTA Special Award (non-competitive)
2. 1996: BAFTA Fellowship Award (non-competitive)

• Laurence Olivier Awards

1. 2010: Society of London Theatre Award (non-competitive)

Note: Smith 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.

Two competitive awards

The following individuals have each won two out of the three major awards in competitive categories:

Missing a BAFTA Film Award

1. Eileen Atkins^◊
2. Rowan Atkinson
3. Simon Russell Beale
4. David Bradley
5. Cheryl Campbell
6. Michaela Coel
7. Jodie Comer
8. Benedict Cumberbatch^◊
9. Monica Dolan
10. Francis Essex^†
11. Michael Gambon^†
12. Mark Gatiss
13. David Hare^◊
14. Derek Jacobi^◊
15. Toby Jones
16. Penelope Keith^◊
17. Dennis Kelly^◊
18. Stewart Lee
19. Robert Lindsay
20. Paul Mescal^◊
21. Warren Mitchell^†
22. John Napier
23. Vanessa Redgrave^{◊ NCA}
24. Beryl Reid^†
25. Andrew Scott
26. Fiona Shaw
27. Ned Sherrin^†
28. Sheridan Smith
29. Tom Stoppard^◊
30. Jack Thorne^◊
31. Margaret Tyzack^†
32. Phoebe Waller-Bridge^◊
33. Gwen Watford^†
34. Tim Whitnall

Missing a BAFTA Television Award

1. Jenny Beavan^◊
2. Dora Bryan^†
3. Tim Chappel
4. Deirdre Clancy
5. Noel Clarke
6. Pauline Collins^◊
7. Chiwetel Ejiofor
8. Bob Fosse^†
9. Lizzy Gardiner
10. John Gielgud^נ
11. Philip Glass
12. Christopher Hampton
13. John Hodge
14. Ian Holm^{◊ †}
15. Ayub Khan Din
16. Martin McDonagh
17. Anthony Minghella^†
18. Sam Mendes^◊
19. Eddie Redmayne
20. Danny Rubin
21. Kristin Scott Thomas
22. Kevin Spacey
23. Imelda Staunton^◊
24. Rachel Weisz

Missing a Laurence Olivier Award

1. Robert Altman^†
2. Michael Apted^†
3. Jim Broadbent
4. Peter Capaldi
5. John Cleese
6. Olivia Colman
7. Steve Coogan
8. Tom Courtenay^◊
9. John Crowley
10. Denholm Elliott^†
11. Edward Fox^◊
12. Dede Gardner
13. Hildur Guðnadóttir
14. Alec Guinness^{◊ NCA †}
15. Christopher Gunning^†
16. Anthony Hopkins^{◊ NCA}
17. John Hurt^†
18. Glenda Jackson^{◊ †}
19. Celia Johnson^†
20. Jeremy Kleiner
21. Ken Loach
22. Ray McAnally^◊
23. Adam McKay
24. Vivien Merchant^†
25. Peter Morgan^◊
26. Bill Nighy^◊
27. Alan Parker^†
28. Peter Straughan
29. Emma Thompson
30. Tracey Ullman
31. Billie Whitelaw^נ
32. Kate Winslet

Notes

• † – Person is deceased.
• ◊ – Person has been nominated at least once for a competitive category of the missing award, but has failed to win.
• NCA – Person won a Non-Competitive Award in this category.

Three nominations

The following individuals have not won all three awards in competitive categories, but have received at least one nomination for each of them:

1. Joss Ackland^N/A†
2. Eileen Atkins
3. Alan Bates^†
4. Jenny Beavan
5. Colin Blakely^N/A†
6. Brenda Blethyn
7. Pauline Collins
8. Tom Courtenay
9. Benedict Cumberbatch
10. Michael Crawford
11. Frances de la Tour
12. Anne-Marie Duff
13. Jennifer Ehle
14. Rupert Everett^N/A
15. Frank Finlay^†
16. Edward Fox
17. Andrew Garfield
18. John Gielgud^†
19. Alec Guinness^†
20. Tom Hardy
21. Wendy Hiller^N/A†
22. Ian Holm^†
23. Anthony Hopkins
24. Michael Hordern^†
25. Bob Hoskins^†
26. Glenda Jackson^†
27. Derek Jacobi
28. Penelope Keith
29. Nicole Kidman
30. Ben Kingsley
31. Rosemary Leach^†
32. Maureen Lipman
33. Jack Lowden
34. Lesley Manville
35. Ian McKellen
36. Paul Mescal
37. Alfred Molina^N/A
38. Peter Morgan
39. Sam Mendes
40. Kate Nelligan
41. Bill Nighy
42. Laurence Olivier^†
43. Vanessa Redgrave
44. Miranda Richardson
45. Paul Scofield^†
46. Lesley Sharp^N/A
47. Michael Sheen^N/A
48. Maggie Smith
49. Kevin Spacey
50. Timothy Spall^N/A
51. Imelda Staunton
52. Juliet Stevenson
53. David Suchet^N/A
54. Janet Suzman^N/A
55. Frances de la Tour
56. Dorothy Tutin^†
57. Peter Ustinov^N/A†
58. Phoebe Waller-Bridge
59. Zoë Wanamaker
60. Emily Watson
61. Ben Whishaw
62. Billie Whitelaw^†
63. Tom Wilkinson^†
64. Lia Williams^N/A
65. Nicol Williamson^N/A†

Notes

† – Person is deceased.

N/A – Person has not won any of the three awards (excluding non-competitive awards).

See also

• British Academy Film Awards
• British Academy Television Awards
• British Academy Television Craft Awards
• Laurence Olivier Awards
• Triple Crown of Acting (U.S.)
• EGOT