Actors can be a nasty lot, never more so when it comes to awards. But even in the hard-bitten world of West End theatre there were cries of "foul" and "unfair" yesterday when the two performers who have turned Stones In His Pockets into the most unlikely hit in years were pitched against each other for best actor in the nominations for the Oliviers.

If someone had told actors Conleth Hill and Sean Campion when they were resting six months ago that Tom Hanks would soon be queuing at the stage door for their autographs, they would have told them to "go away and boil your head".