One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest won Best Actor at the Academy Awards.
The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences -LRB- AMPAS -RRB- .. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role while working within the film industry .. leading. Lead actor. film industry. 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 .. 1st Academy Awards. 1st Academy Awards. 1st Academy Awards. Emil Jannings. Emil Jannings. The Last Command. The Last Command ( 1928 film ). The Way of All Flesh. The Way of All Flesh ( 1927 film ). Currently , nominees are determined by single transferable vote within the actors branch of AMPAS ; winners are selected by a plurality vote from the entire eligible voting members of the Academy .. single transferable vote. single transferable vote. plurality vote. Plurality ( voting ). In the first three years of the awards , actors were nominated as the best in their categories .. At that time , all of their work during the qualifying period -LRB- as many as three films , in some cases -RRB- was listed after the award .. However , during the 3rd ceremony held in 1930 , only one of those films was cited in each winner 's final award , even though each of the acting winners had two films following their names on the ballots .. 3rd ceremony. 3rd Academy Awards. The following year , this unwieldy and confusing system was replaced by the current system in which an actor is nominated for a specific performance in a single film .. Starting with the 9th ceremony held in 1937 , the category was officially limited to five nominations per year .. 9th ceremony. 9th Academy Awards. Since its inception , the award has been given to 79 actors .. Daniel Day-Lewis has received the most awards in this category with three Oscars .. Daniel Day-Lewis. Daniel Day-Lewis. Spencer Tracy and Laurence Olivier were nominated on nine occasions , more than any other actor .. Spencer Tracy. Spencer Tracy. Laurence Olivier. Laurence Olivier. As of the 2017 ceremony , Casey Affleck is the most recent winner in this category for his role as Lee Chandler in Manchester by the Sea .. Casey Affleck. Casey Affleck. Manchester by the Sea. Manchester by the Sea ( film ). 2017 ceremony. 89th Academy Awards