Clooney and Scherzinger land their first Tony nominations as Othello snubbed

George Clooney and Nicole Scherzinger have been nominated for their first Tonys this year while Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal have been snubbed.

- Benjamin Lee

Clooney was included in the leading actor in a play category for Good Night and Good Luck, an adaptation of the 2005 film which he also starred in and directed. The show received five nominations in total.

After winning an Olivier award for her performance during the West End run of Sunset Boulevard, Scherzinger is now heading up the category of leading actress in a musical. The show has seven nominations.

She faces competition from Audra McDonald, who has become the most Tony-nominated performer of all time – 11 in total, with six wins – with a nomination for Gypsy. The show scored six nominations.

But the musicals in the lead are the 90s dark comedy revival Death Becomes Her, robot romance Maybe Happy Ending and Buena Vista Social Club, inspired by the 1997 album and film – each has 10 nominations.

The other nominees for best musical are Dead Outlaw