Jodie Comer said she felt "overwhelmed" after winning her first Tony award for her performance in Prima Facie.
The Killing Eve star paid tribute to her character and writer Suzie Miller as she collected the prize for best leading actress in a play.
The award is Comer's first Tony nomination and win, and comes following her Broadway debut in Miller’s one-woman production, which follows a British defence lawyer who ends up in the witness box.
The 2023 Tonys took place on Sunday in New York and was hosted by Oscar-winning actress Ariana DeBose.
Opening the show, DeBose told audiences to "buckle up" after warning them that the show would be completely unscripted, amid the ongoing Hollywood writers strike.
The strike, involving over 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) had previously threatened to derail the show.
The WGA previously agreed to a waiver for the show, so that its members would not picket the event and allow the broadcast on US network CBS to go ahead.
"We don’t have a script you guys. I am live and unscripted. You’re welcome," DeBose said.
"So to anyone who may have thought that last year was a bit unhinged. To them I say 'darlings, buckle up’."
Comer fended off competition from Oscar-winning actress Jessica Chastain in her category, as well as Jessica Hecht and Audra McDonald.
Speaking about her character, she said: "This woman in this play has been my greatest teacher and I have to thank Suzie Miller for that, who wrote this magnificent piece.
"Without her writing that (I) would not be here so this feels just as much Suzie’s as it is mine."
The actress went on to thank members of her production team and apologised to her friends and family for being "absent" in the past year.
"To every person who feels represented by Tessa, this has been my greatest honour," she said, quickly adding "and it continues to be – there’s three weeks left!"
Elsewhere, the night’s other top prize of best musical went to Kimberly Akimbo, with Sean Hayes winning best leading actor in a play.
Best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical was awarded to J Harrison Ghee, while Victoria Clark claimed the award in the equivalent female category.
Hollywood star Samuel L Jackson lost out in the category for best performance by an actor in a featured role in a play to Brandon Uranowitz.
Lifetime Achievement In The Theatre awards were also presented to actor Joel Grey and composer John Kander.
Accepting the accolade, Kander said: "This is a very big deal.
"When your own community honours you it’s very humbling and a little bit scary," he said.
"I am grateful to music which has invaded me early on from the time I was a baby, and stayed my friend, through my entire life, and has promised to stick with me to the end."
Grey, who won a Tony and an Oscar for his performance in Cabaret, was presented with his award by his daughter, actress Jennifer Grey, who described him as her "hero".
Tina Turner, Harry Belafonte, Barry Humphries and Dame Angela Lansbury all featured in the Tonys’ 2023 in memoriam section.
The section was accompanied by a performance by Joaquina Kalukango, last year’s leading actress in a musical winner, who sang Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again from Phantom Of The Opera.
Source: Press Association
