Wikipedia:Today's featured list/February 23, 2015
The Academy Award for Best Actor is presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role while working within the film industry. The 1st Academy Awards ceremony was held in 1929 with Emil Jannings receiving the award for his roles in The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh. Currently, nominees are determined by single transferable vote within the actors branch of AMPAS; winners are selected by a plurality vote from the entire body of eligible voting members of the Academy. In the first three years of the awards, actors were nominated as the best in their categories. The system was later replaced by one in which an actor is nominated for a specific performance in a single film. Since its inception, the award has been given to 78 actors. Daniel Day-Lewis (pictured) has received the most awards in this category with three Oscars. Spencer Tracy and Laurence Olivier were nominated on nine occasions, more than any other actor. (Full list...)