Sri Lankan actor Hiran Abeysekera has won the Olivier Award for Best Actor at the award ceremony held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Sunday.

Abeysekera picked up the award for his performances as the leading man on the West End play ‘Life of Pi’, which also scooped a host of top prizes.

Life of Pi, based on the Booker Prize-winning novel, was named best new play and scooped several technical prizes. Seven performers who play the tiger shared the best supporting actor prize.

The production, based on Yann Martel’s Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name, scooped the best play prize as part of its haul.

Life of Pi, a philosophical novel by Yann Martel, was also adapted into a film in 2012 which starred Indian actor Suraj Sharma and won four Oscars.

In a touching speech, the show’s star Abeysekera said he was "overwhelmed" to win best actor. He paid tribute to his home country of Sri Lanka, which he said was going through a "tough time now... I think of you and wish I was there with you".

The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London.