2025 Tonys: Jonathan Groff (‘Just in Time’) Could Make Tony History with Back-to-Back Lead Actor in a Musical Wins

With four nominations, including his first win just last year in Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for the acclaimed revival of Merrily We Roll Along, Jonathan Groff has emerged a frequent presence at the Tony Awards over the past two decades.

Prior to triumphing for Merrily, Groff was a nominee for in the same category for his breakout turn in Spring Awakening and a Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical contender for portraying King George in Hamilton. This year, he is back in awards contention with a third career leading bid, this time for portraying iconic singer and songwriter Bobby Darin in Just in Time.

With three appearances in this category, Groff is just one bid shy of tying John Cullum, Brian d’Arcy James and Raul Julia, who all currently hold the record for most nominations (four) for Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical.

Groff needn’t wait another year to make some other history in this category, however. Should he triumph, he will become the first performer to ever score consecutive musical lead actor Tony wins.

Other performers have won two Tonys in this category – nine, in fact. They are Norbert Leo Butz (for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Catch Me If You Can), John Cullum (Shenandoah and On the Twentieth Century), Richard Kiley (Redhead and Man of La Mancha), Nathan Lane (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and The Producers), Zero Mostel (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Fiddler on the Roof), James Naughton (City of Angels and Chicago), Robert Preston (The Music Man and I Do! I Do!), George Rose (My Fair Lady and The Mystery of Edwin Drood) and Phil Silvers (Top Banana and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum).

None of those actors, however, earned back-to-back wins. Could Groff emerge the first performer to pull off this elusive feat? Let’s take a look at this year’s race for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.

It’s a plenty competitive field that includes another past Tony winner (James Monroe Iglehart), a past leading actor Tony nominee (Jeremy Jordan), an Emmy winner on his first Tony bid (Darren Criss) and two contenders who have already picked up awards for their turns (Andrew Durand and Tom Francis).

If there’s an underdog in the race, it may be Iglehart, up for his portrayal of legendary jazz musician Louis Armstrong in A Wonderful World – The Louis Armstrong Musical. While Iglehart earned rave reviews, the production itself saw a more muted response, with no Tony recognition beyond for its leading man. It has been nearly 50 years since a performer prevailed in this category as the lone nominee from his production – Barry Bostwick, who triumphed in 1977 for The Robber Bridegroom. Moreover, the show having closed in February, Iglehart is the only nominee here without his show currently running.

It is exceedingly tough to project a front-runner among the other five contenders, all of whom headline productions that are currently running and have scored at least half a dozen nominations.

If there is a soft favorite, it may be Criss, up for Maybe Happy Ending, which tied with Buena Vista Social Club and Death Becomes Her for most Tony nominations this year (10). If the show takes Best Musical, there is a strong chance Criss prevails as well. Of the past 10 Best Musical Tony winners, seven saw at least one acting win and Criss marks the lone performance nominated from it.

If, however, Maybe Happy Ending does not score the Best Musical Tony, we could very well be looking at a different winner here. A formidable alternative who has already scored a major prize for his performance is Francis, whose turn in Sunset Boulevard last year scored the Olivier Award in Best Actor in a Musical for the revival’s West End run.

There is also Durand, whose performance in Dead Outlaw last year won the Outer Critics Circle Award in Best Off-Broadway Musical Actor for the production’s Off-Broadway run. An overperformance by Dead Outlaw on Tony night could result in a win here. Likewise, a healthy showing for Floyd Collins could support a victory for leading man Jordan, who has been all over Broadway as of late, appearing in eight productions over the past 15 years.

As for Groff, Just in Time has proven a critical and commercial smash, consistently playing to standing room only. And there is a history of actors triumphing in this category for portrayals of real-life musicians, including Myles Frost (as Michael Jackson in MJ), John Lloyd Young (as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys) and Hugh Jackman (as Peter Allen in The Boy from Oz).

If there is a hurdle for Groff to overcome, it’s the lack of a Best Musical nomination for Just in Time itself. Not since Bostwick in 1977 has an actor taken this prize without his production nominated for Best Musical or Best Musical Revival. Just in Time did earn five other nominations, so the love for this production is there, but it’s nonetheless notable that it couldn’t make the cut for the top prize.

Ultimately, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical is one of this year’s most suspenseful Tony races. Given his show’s nominations haul, Criss may have a slight edge but there is a strong case to be made for most of these contenders. Groff’s sterling reviews, coupled with the show’s commercial success and the lack of a clear category front-runner, could prove the combination needed for him to prevail and make Tony history.