It is a measure of his seriousness as an actor that, even after his star shone more brightly on the screen, he still returned periodically to the rigors of the Broadway stage. His 1960 stint as King Henry II opposite Olivier in Becket earned Quinn a Tony nomination. In 1983, he returned to Broadway in a musical version of Zorba the Greek, playing a character with whom he had become inescapably linked.

Working there with Elia Kazan, Quinn succeeded Brando as Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire, playing on Broadway and touring the country for a year. It was extraordinary training for Quinn, who had been a movie actor exclusively for eleven years. It also earned him the respect of Kazan, who four years later would cast him in Viva Zapata!, revitalizing Quinn’s film career and bringing him his first Academy Award.