West Hampstead actress Imelda Staunton named best musical actress at the Olivier Awards for Sweeney Todd role

Imelda Staunton (Mrs Lovett) and Michael Ball (Sweeney Todd) in SweeneyTodd. Image by Johann Persson (Image: Archant)

Ms Staunton, 57, who lives in West Hampstead with her husband and Downton Abbey star Jim Carter, took home the Best Actress in a Musical gong at the Olivier Awards on Sunday.

Rupert Everett in The Judas Kiss Picture: Manuel Harlan (Image: Archant)

She was deservedly rewarded for her riveting turn as Mrs Lovett in the latest revival of Stephen Sondheim’s grisly musical Sweeney Todd, which finished its run at the Adelphi Theatre in September.

Heathman struggled to track down Ms Staunton for a word about her award success – perhaps no surprise given her last Ham&High interview.

Asked last year about her role as the murderous barber’s accomplice who bakes dead bodies into pies, she confessed to not being too keen on discussing her art.

“No-one asks plumbers, you know, ‘How did you do that? How did you make that pipe work?’” she remarked. “Everyone wants to know everything about everything now... it’s just that it’s not that interesting.”

Hampstead Theatre was delighted with 53-year-old Rupert Everett’s Best Actor nomination for his widely-praised portrayal of Oscar Wilde in its hit production of The Judas Kiss, which transferred to the Duke of York’s Theatre.

Artistic director Edward Hall said: “The awards ceremony was a testament to the rude health our industry finds itself in – and woe betide the government that dismantles it.”

Hollywood star James McAvoy, 34, of Crouch End, was also in the running for Best Actor for his portrayal of Macbeth. The award eventually went to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time star Luke Treadaway.

Kentish Town’s Simon McBurney was another of the near misses – he was up for the Best Director award for his company Complicite’s production of The Master and Margarita at the Barbican.