Atwell, 42, and her friend Tom Hiddleston played the warring lovers Beatrice and Benedick — she beady and intelligent, he a vain manchild (the production even acknowledged the pair’s shared existence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where she is Agent Carter and he is Loki). Both were nominated for the prime acting honours in the 2025 Standard Theatre Awards, with Atwell winning the Natasha Richardson award for best actress. “The fact that it’s Shakespeare that I’m winning for feels important, because it asks everything of an actor in order to get it right,” she says.
Standard Theatre Awards winner Hayley Atwell: ‘Winning for Shakespeare feels important’
