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 ( as many as three films , in some cases ) 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 . The following year , this 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
Academy Award for Best Actor