Tracy Letts, who won a Tony Award as a playwright, now has one as an actor.
Letts takes home the trophy for best performance by an actor in a play for playing George, one-half of the bickering couple at the heart of Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
He beat out Nathan Lane, Tom Hanks, David Hyde Pierce and Tom Sturridge.
Letts, a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Co. ensemble since 2002, burst to worldwide fame when his "August: Osage County" won the Pulitzer and five Tonys, including the best play trophy in 2008.
His other plays include "Man from Nebraska," a Pulitzer finalist in 2004, "Killer Joe," ''Superior Donuts" and "Bug." His previous acting credits include "Betrayal," ''The Pillowman," ''Homebody/Kabul" and "Glengarry Glen Ross."
Mayor Rahm Emanuel offered on Sunday congratulations to Letts and Steppenwolf.
"Steppenwolf represents the best of Chicago's vibrant arts scene by engaging audiences in an exchange of ideas that makes us think harder, laugh longer, feel more," Emanuel said. "We couldn't be prouder than to share Chicago's own with the country and the world."
