Leonardo DiCaprio, Brie Larson among 2017 Oscar presenters

PanARMENIAN.Net - Peaceful transition of power: Oscars edition. The Academy announced on Wednesday, Feb. 1 that last year’s winners in the acting categories — Leonardo DiCaprio, Brie Larson, Mark Rylance and Alicia Vikander — will all present awards at this year’s festivities, according to Variety.

DiCaprio was crowned best actor at the 2016 awards for his performance as a revenge-seeking frontiersman in “The Revenant.” Larson won best actress for her turn as a woman held captive in a shed with her young son in “Room.” Rylance’s performance in “Bridge of Spies” earned him the best supporting actor award, and Vikander won the supporting actress prize for “The Danish Girl.”

Unlike the past two years, which saw only white actors nominated for the Academy Awards, this year’s lineup features a record six black actors nominated for acting prizes, and at least one person of color included in each of the four acting categories.

Of the films nominated this year, Damien Chazelle’s colorful original musical “La La Land” tied the all-time record for most nominations with 14. It would need to win 11 awards to tie “Ben-Hur,” “Titanic” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” for the most-ever, and 12 to set a new standalone record.

The 89th annual Oscars — hosted by Jimmy Kimmel — will air live on ABC from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Feb. 26.