Actor Neil Patrick Harris has been named as the host of the 87th annual Academy Awards.
It’s be Harris’s first time hosting the Oscars having previously hosted the Tony Awards on four occasions.
The awards will take place on Sunday February 22nd in Los Angeles.
“It is truly an honor and a thrill to be asked to host this year’s Academy Awards.
Harris said the job was a dream role that was on his ‘bucket list’.
“I grew up watching the Oscars and was always in such awe of some of the greats who hosted the show,” said Harris. “To be asked to follow in the footsteps of Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal, Ellen Degeneres, and everyone else who had the great fortune of hosting is a bucket list dream come true.”
The show’s producer’s Craig Zadan and Neil Meron described the former child star as a great performer.
“We are thrilled to have Neil host the Oscars,” said Zadan and Meron. “We have known him his entire adult life, and we have watched him explode as a great performer in feature films, television and stage. To work with him on the Oscars is the perfect storm, all of his resources and talent coming together on a global stage.”
The actor first found fame as a child star in the TV show ‘Doogie Howser’ before having a career revival portraying an outrageous version of himself in the ‘Harold and Kumar’ movie franchise. After 9 seasons on the hit sit-com ‘How I Met Your Mother’ Harris moved to Broadway playing the lead role in ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’. Most recently he appeared opposite Ben Affleck in the David Fincher film ‘Gone Girl’.
Hosting the Awards is one of Hollywood’s most highly judged roles. While some stars have been given critical acclaim for their hosting abilities others have been ridiculed for poor performances.
This year the awards were hosted by Ellen DeHeneres, who delivered a memorable moment with a superstar selfie. It was DeGeneres second time in the role, having previously hosted in 2007. Seth McFarlane hosted the awards in 2012 and was given mixed reviews by critics.
While DeGeneres has landed the Oscar gig twice, she’s a long way behind the late comedian Bob Hope who hosted the show a record 19 times. Hope, who passed away in 2003 – aged 100 years old, last took on the gig in the late ’70s.
Some of the other celebrities who have scored the role multiple times include TV host Johnny Carson (5 appearances), actor Billy Crystal (8 appearances), actor Whoopi Goldberg (4 appearances), actor Steve Martin (3 times) and the late David Niven (3 times).
Over the awards 85 year history a wide range of performers have stepped up to the role just once, including James Franco who co-hosted with Anne Hathaway, Australia’s own Hugh Jackman has had one shot in the position. Fellow Australian Paul Hogan also co-hosted back in 1987 when he teamed up with Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase.
Neil Patrick Harris, who is know for his love of ‘suiting up’ might want to look to some of the show’s earlier host for inspiration. Fred Astaire hosted the show in 1951, while Frank Sinatra gave it a go in 1963. Lionel Barrymore hosted he show alongside matinee idol Conrad Nagel in 1932. While the very first ceremony was hosted by actor Douglas Fairbanks and writer/director William C deMille.
There are four occasions that the show has done away with the host all together.
OIP Staff
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