Andrew Garfield at the Tonys: ‘Let’s Just Bake a Cake for Everyone!’

Andrew Garfield won his first Tony Award for his portrayal of Prior Walter in the revival of “Angels in America,” in a crowded category for best leading actor in a play that included Denzel Washington (“The Iceman Cometh”), Tom Hollander (“Travesties”), Jamie Parker (“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”) and Mark Rylance (“Farinelli and the King”). His acceptance speech referenced the recent Supreme Court decision that ruled in favor of a Colorado baker who had refused to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple:

“This means a great deal, thank you so much. At a moment in time where maybe the most important thing that we remember right now is the sanctity of the human spirit, it is the profound privilege of my life to play Prior Walter in “Angels in America” because he represents the purest spirit of humanity, and especially that of the LGBTQ community. It is a spirit that says no to oppression. It is a spirit that says no to bigotry, no to shame, no to exclusion.

“It is a spirit that says we are all made perfectly. And we all belong. So I dedicate this award to the countless LGBTQ people who have fought and died to protect that spirit, to protect that message for the right to live and love as we are created to. Tony Kushner thank you for being the Angel in America, that we all wish we can could live in, that we all dream of living in one day. Marianne Elliott, I adore you, you are my queen and all of our queens, thank you so much. This incredible company, you are all geniuses in your own right. I bow to you so deeply, you inspire me every day.

“To the crew of the Neil Simon Theater, you are all insane geniuses, to the Shadows, to Jordan Roth, Tim Levy, our producers. To other people that are escaping my mind. Miranda Cromwell, I adore you. To my own personal tribe, to my mom and dad, I share this with you. To Kate Bryden and Greta Seacat, I share this with you. We are all sacred and we all belong, so let’s just bake a cake for everyone who wants a cake to be baked!”