Tony Awards: Helen Mirren and Carey Mulligan among British nominees

Dame Helen Mirren, Carey Mulligan and Ruth Wilson all vie for best actress

British stars Carey Mulligan, Ruth Wilson and Dame Helen Mirren are all up for best actress at the Tony Awards, the biggest honours in US theatre.

They go up against home-grown stars Geneva Carr and Elisabeth Moss, in a year where British talent is particularly well-recognised.

Three of the four best director nominees are British, while Bill Nighy and Ben Miles are in the running for best actor.

The awards will be presented on 7 June.

Musicals An American in Paris and Fun Home are the front-runners, each landing 12 nominations on Tuesday, showing two sides of the Broadway experience.

An American in Paris is the most successful of the nominees at the box office

An American in Paris is a sunny, heavily-choreographed adaptation of the 1951 film; while Fun Home is a moody show based on Alison Bechdel's graphic novel about her suicidal father.

The nominations also ranged from 11-year-old Sydney Lucas in Fun Home to the 82-year-old Chita Rivera, looking for her third Tony.

'Fantastic day'

British talent accounts for 24 nominations in total, with two West End transfers - Wolf Hall and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, up for best play.

Dame Helen is recognised for her role as Queen Elizabeth II in The Audience, which imagines the private weekly meetings between the monarch and eight of her prime ministers.

She already has an Olivier Award for the London production, and an Oscar for portraying the Queen on the big screen.

"I've studied the shape of her mouth," said Dame Helen. "I know her face probably better than anyone else does. But it's only my portrait," she said. "I can only surmise and imagine."

Ruth Wilson is shortlisted for her role in Constellations, the tale of a relationship playing out across alternate universes.

Her co-star Jake Gyllenhall missed out on a nomination, however, joining other notable omissions such as Larry David's Fish in the Dark; and Finding Neverland, the JM Barrie musical produced by Hollywood heavyweight Harvey Weinstein, with music by Gary Barlow.

The nominees were announced by Mary-Louise Parker and Bruce Willis, who will make his Broadway debut in a production of Stephen King's Misery later this year

Carey Mulligan and Bill Nighy are both nominated for Skylight, a revival of David Hare's 1995 drama, in which they play mis-matched lovers, as is co-star Matthew Beard.

Director Stephen Daldry - best known for his work on the films Billy Elliot and The Hours - is also up for best director for the play.

Daldry, who also directed The Audience, said: "It is a fantastic day for British theatre on Broadway. I am personally thrilled for The Audience and Skylight, and delighted too for Wolf Hall and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time"

The latter, which began life at the National Theatre, was nominated for best play, with British director Marianne Elliott also receiving a nod.

"It feels amazing," she told the BBC. "We had no idea when we first started how the hell this play was going to go down. We were taking big risks, we felt. We had no idea whether there'd be an audience for it. So to see it go to Broadway is quite amazing."

Bradley Cooper will bring his Tony-nominated performance in The Elephant Man to London this year

Curious Incident has six nominations in all, Skylight seven, while the RSC's double bill of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies has eight, including a best actor listing for Ben Miles, who plays Thomas Cromwell, and best director for Jeremy Herrin.

Other notable nominees included Bradley Cooper, up for best actor for his portrayal of Joseph Merrick in The Elephant Man; and Sting, who was shortlisted for best original score, despite his musical The Last Ship closing early.

Cooper, who will perform the play in the West End next month, said: "To be a part of a community that gathers together in a 13 block radius, eight shows a week, no matter what, in the greatest city in the world - for one sole purpose, to tell stories - I can't think of a better job to have. Thank you for letting The Elephant Man be a part of this season's story telling."

Alan Cumming and Kristin Chenoweth - nominated herself for best lead actress in a musical - will host this year's ceremony.

Full list of nominees

Best musical

• An American in Paris

• Fun Home

• Something Rotten!

• The Visit

Best play

• Disgraced

• Hand to God

• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

• Wolf Hall

Best musical revival

• The King and I

• On the Town

• On the Twentieth Century

Best play revival

• The Elephant Man

• Skylight

• This Is Our Youth

• You Can't Take It With You

Best actor in a musical

• Michael Cerveris - Fun Home

• Robert Fairchild - An American in Paris

• Brian d'arcy James - Something Rotten!

• Ken Watanabe - The King and I

• Tony Yazbeck - On The Town

Best actor in a play

• Steven Boyer - Hand To God

• Bradley Cooper - The Elephant Man

• Ben Miles - Wolf Hall

• Bill Nighy - Skylight

• Alex Sharp - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Best actress in a musical

• Kristen Chenoweth - On The 20th Century

• Leanne Michelle Cope - An American in Paris

• Chita Rivera - The Visit

• Kelli O'Hara - The King and I

• Beth Malone - Fun Home

Best actress in a play

• Geneva Carr - Hand to God

• Helen Mirren - The Audience

• Elisabeth Moss - The Heidi Chronicles

• Carey Mulligan - Skylight

• Ruth Wilson - Constellations

Featured actor in a musical

• Christian Borle - Something Rotten!

• Andy Karl - On The 20th Century

• Brad Oscar - Something Rotten!

• Brandon Uranowitz - An American in Paris

• Max von Essen - An American in Paris

Featured actress in a musical

• Victoria Clark - Gigi

• Judy Kuhn - Fun Home

• Sydney Lucas - Fun Home

• Ruthie Ann Miles - The King and I

• Emily Skeggs - Fun Home

Featured actor in a play

• Matthew Beard - Skylight

• K Todd Freeman - Airline Highway

• Richard McCabe - The Audience

• Alessandro Nivola - The Elephant Man

• Nathaniel Parker - Wolf Hall

• Micah Stock - It's Only A Play

Featured actress in a play

• Annaleigh Ashford - You Can't Take It With You

• Patricia Clarkson - The Elephant Man

• Lydia Leonard - Wolf Hall

• Sarah Stiles - Hand to God

• Julie White - Airline Highway

Direction of a musical

• Sam Gold - Fun Home

• Casey Nicholaw - Something Rotten!

• John Rando - On The Town

• Bartlett Sher - The King and I

• Christopher Wheeldon - An American in Paris

Direction of a play

• Stephen Daldry - Skylight

• Marianne Elliott - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

• Jeremy Herrin - Wolf Hall

• Moritz von Stuelpnagel - Hand to God

Best original score

• Fun Home - Music: Jeanine Tesori. Lyrics: Lisa Kron

• The Last Ship - Music and lyrics: Sting

• Something Rotten! - Music and lyrics: Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick

• The Visit - Music: John Kander. Lyrics: Fred Ebb

Best scenic design of a play

• Bunny Christie and Finn Ross - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

• Bob Crowley - Skylight

• Christopher Oram - Wolf Hall

• David Rockwell - You Can't Take It with You

Best scenic design of a musical

• Bob Crowley and 59 Productions - An American in Paris

• David Rockwell - On the Twentieth Century

• Michael Yeargan - The King and I

• David Zinn - Fun Home

Best costume design of a play

• Bob Crowley - The Audience

• Jane Greenwood - You Can't Take It with You

• Christopher Oram - Wolf Hall

• David Zinn - Airline Highway

Best costume design of a musical

• Gregg Barnes - Something Rotten!

• Bob Crowley - An American in Paris

• William Ivey Long - On the Twentieth Century

• Catherine Zuber - The King and I

Best lighting design of a play

• Paule Constable - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

• Paule Constable and David Plater - Wolf Hall

• Natasha Katz - Skylight

• Japhy Weideman - Airline Highway

Best lighting design of a musical

• Donald Holder - The King and I

• Natasha Katz - An American in Paris

• Ben Stanton - Fun Home

• Japhy Weideman - The Visit

Best choreography

• Joshua Bergasse - On the Town

• Christopher Gattelli - The King and I

• Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett for Frantic Assembly - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

• Casey Nicholaw - Something Rotten!

• Christopher Wheeldon - An American in Paris

Best orchestrations

• Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky, Bill Elliott - An American in Paris

• John Clancy - Fun Home

• Larry Hochman - Something Rotten!

• Rob Mathes - The Last Ship

Special Tony Award

• John Cameron Mitchell

Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award

• Stephen Schwartz