The category was introduced in 1995, at the 2nd Star Awards ceremony; Li Nanxing received the award for his role in Wounded Tracks and it is given in honour of a Mediacorp actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role.
The nominees are determined by a team of judges employed by Mediacorp; winners are selected by a majority vote from the entire judging panel.
Jeremy Chan is the most recent winner in this category for his role in All That Glitters.
Since the ceremony held in 2024, Chen Hanwei remains as the only actor to win in this category seven times, surpassing Xie Shaoguang who has five wins.
Terence Cao is currently the actor who has the most nominations without a win, with six.