The Dear England star, who won the Olivier Award for playing Harry Kane, was once dropped by Tesco for being “too annoying” after being inspired to act by his mother, who died during the coronavirus crisis

Just a few years ago, Will Close's best-known role was that of a frivolous gap year student, but was abruptly dropped by Tesco from TV commercials starring Ruth Jones and Ben Miller because his character was “too annoying”.

Today the actor is the star of the West End after winning a prestigious Olivier Award for his role as Harry Kane in the National Theatre's hit show Dear England, which also won Best New Play.

The football-loving Everton fan who picked up the best supporting actor award – whose previous winners include Eddie Redmayne, Toby Jones and Sir Patrick Stewart – appeared shocked and overwhelmed and poignantly dedicated the gong to his late mother, a lover of amateur dramatics , who died during the pandemic and inspired him to action.

But he also thanked the England captain himself in his speech – and revealed that although he had never met Harry, the footballer's friends came to watch the show and were blown away by the idea.

Speaking on the red carpet at the Royal Albert Hall, he said: “I had a few people who came to see it who knew Harry and were friends with him who gave him a lot of encouragement and praise, which was a relief.”

Will said he studied Kane's tone and his overuse of certain bland words like “nice” and “obvious” in interviews. He added: “I think if he had been in the audience I wouldn't have been able to bear it – I would have been too nervous.”

Mr Close, who is originally from Worcestershire rather than Kane's hometown of Walthamstow, thanked Bayern Munich strikers Harry and Joseph Fiennes, the star of the show as Gareth Southgate, for being his “hero”.

He also paid tribute to his mother, saying: “My mother who died during Covid,” adding: “To all the single mothers in public housing.”

After his win, he added: “I wouldn't have been there without my mother.” She loved it. The am-dram thing was her greatest passion and pleasure. It spread to me. She was crucial to me when I did it.

The morning after the awards ceremony, Will admitted that he had been partying all night and wasn't in bed.

Speaking to BBC Hereford & Worcester about the evening, he said: “It's crazy.” “It's strange, I feel like I'm on a cloud, it's crazy.”

Recalling the moment he heard his name called, Close added: “I felt like I was sleeping, like I was dreaming.”

Before Dear England, he was best known for his role as Freddie in Tesco's Fictional Family, in which he played a “boomerang child” living with his parents in his twenties in about four commercials.

Ruth Jones, star of TV hits including Gavin and Stacey, played his mother, and Paddington actor and comedian Ben Miller played Close's father.

In their Christmas advert they searched a Tesco store for items for neighbors who needed to eat gluten-free meals.

Close, whose character said he didn't know what gluten-free meant, returned to the cart with a light bulb to eat.

Tesco soon dropped Freddie after a backlash, with only Jones and Miller returning for later adverts.

The supermarket's then brand director, Michelle McEttrick, admitted that the character was too annoying.

“Freddie is taking a year abroad and may have emigrated permanently.” “We listened very carefully to customers and looked at a lot of data. So if we pick out something that bothers us, we will make adjustments,” she said.

Will comes from humble beginnings. He was a former pupil of Prince Henry's High School in Evesham and then attended drama school in Peckham, south-east London.

He is best known for his comedy work, but most of his mainstream appearances have been in television commercials.

He landed the life-changing role in Dear England after sending a video audition to Dear England author James Graham.

Mr Graham admits he is “literally incapable of kicking a ball”, but he can clearly see acting talent.

Despite the success of the piece. Close was not expected to win – nor did he think he would – but left Paul Hilton, Giles Terera, Luke Thompson and Zubin Varla behind.

“Olivier's 2024 tonight.” Great game. Biggest of the season. He's not expected to come off the bench, but I'm happy to have made the squad. “Come on (Dear) England…!!,” he said before making his way to the Albert Hall on Sunday.

The Olivier for best new play went to “Dear England” by James Graham.

He thanked the National Theater for letting him see “if we won against France, to see if we put on the play,” and referred to an English football match.

Graham thanked teachers at his Nottingham comprehensive school, which he said was in the “red wall”.

He added that he was “so grateful” to his teachers for believing that “working-class children” should learn theater.

But there was a shocker when Joseph Fiennes lost to Mark Gatiss at The Motive and the Cue.

Sarah Snook is better known for her role as Shiv Roy in “Succession,” but she was the night's big winner when she won best actress for the one-woman production of “The Picture of Dorian Gray.”

After a head-to-head battle with her TV colleague Sarah Jessica Parker – who played Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City – as well as Sheridan Smith, Sophie Okonedo and Laura Donnelly, Ms Snook, 36, walked away triumphant.

Wearing a custom-made black velvet dress by Erdem, the Australian actress was honored for her critically acclaimed performance at the Theater Royal.

Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham, 49, returned to host the event. She wore a sparkling purple dress and opened the ceremony with an appearance.

A star of Hollywood thanks to his Bafta-nominated role in All of Us Strangers and his appearance in Netflix series Ripley, Andrew Scott, 47, made an impression in a cropped black tuxedo and black sequined shirt.