The First Oscar Presenters are Last Year's Acting Winners

The first round of Oscar presenters have been announced, and as is tradition, the four acting winners from last year's ceremony will all present this year. Mahershala Ali, Olivia Colman, Regina King, and Rami Malek will all present awards.

"We love the tradition of having the previous year’s Oscar-winning actors on stage to celebrate the achievements of their peers and are thrilled to welcome back these four great talents,” said Lynette Howell Taylor and Stephanie Allain, the producers of this year's ceremony in a statement.

Although tradition dictates that these four would present to the winner of the opposite gender (the supporting actor winner would present supporting actress, etc.), no announcement was made as to which categories each of these actors would be presenting.

Last year, Rami Malek the lead actor won for his performance as Freddie Mercury in "Bohemian Rhapsody." Although the film was not received warmly by critics, it became an international phenomenon, and Rami Malek earned prize after prize for his performance in the central role.

Olivia Colman was a surprise winner at last year's ceremony in lead actress. She played the Queen in "The Favourite," a delightfully strange medieval commentary about what it's like to fight for the favor of a monarch.

Glenn Close had been the favorite for the prize all season, so Colman was genuinely surprised when her name was announced. She proceeded to give a truly delightful speech that in and of itself proved she was worthy of being given the award.

Mahershala Ali picked up his second Oscar at last year's ceremony for his supporting turn in "Green Book." In the film, Ali plays Don Shirley, a virtuosic pianist who hires a driver to escort across the deep South in the 1960s. The movie also picked up the prize for Best Picture.

Ali won this same award just a few years ago for his performance in "Moonlight," which also went on to collect the Best Picture prize. He must be a good luck charm.

Regina King won for a movie directed by the man who directed "Moonlight," Barry Jenkins. Her performance in "If Beale Street Could Talk" earned her a supporting prize, and was just the beginning of a tremendous year for the actress.

King also had a central role in HBO's "Watchmen," which turned out to be one of the most talked-about shows of the fall. She's always been an incredibly talented actress, but now people are beginning to take notice of it.