Syracuse University

Frank A. Langella '59
For Excellence in Performing Arts

Frank Langella is considered among America's greatest stage and film actors. Known for his powerful onstage presence and extreme versatility, his performances range from Strindberg's drama The Father, to Noel Coward's comedy, Present Laughter. During his long and distinguished career, Langella has won international acclaim with well over two dozen nominations and awards, including Tonys, Oscars, Emmys, Golden Globes, Cable ACE Awards, Obies, and various critics' awards.

Not long after graduating from Syracuse University with a degree in theater arts, Langella made his New York stage debut as the lead in an off-Broadway revival of The Immoralist. During the next decade he won three Obie Awards for his work off-Broadway and a Drama Desk Award for his work in A Cry of Players by William Gibson. In 1974, he made his Broadway debut in Edward Albee's Seascape, for which he won another Drama Desk Award and the first of three Tony Awards.

Langella made his film debut in 1970 in Diary of a Mad Housewife, and later that year co-starred in the iconic Mel Brooks comedy The Twelve Chairs. While appearing regularly in films and on television, he continued to be in great demand as a stage actor. In 1977, his outstanding performance as the bloodthirsty count in the Broadway revival of Dracula earned Langella his second Tony nomination. He reprised his performance for the film version of Dracula in 1979.

Continuing to work steadily on Broadway, Langella won a second Tony Award for Fortune's Fool in 2003 and a third for Frost/Nixon in 2007. That same year he won an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his starring role in Starting Out in the Evening, and earned rave reviews for his bravura performance in the 2008 revival of A Man for All Seasons.

Langella's success in film continued with his critically acclaimed portrayal of William S. Paley in Good Night, and Good Luck (2005) and his co-starring role in the summer blockbuster Superman Returns (2006). In 2008, he was honored with a Best Actor Academy Award nomination, as well as Golden Globe and SAG nominations, for his portrayal of former president Richard Nixon in the film adaptation of Frost/Nixon.

Langella was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 2003.  He is currently set to star in Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, a film directed by Oliver Stone.