Conan O’Brien has been announced as the host of next year’s Oscars.
It’s the Emmy Award-winning comedian’s first time heading up the ceremony, which is Hollywood‘s most high-profile showbiz event.
“America demanded it and now it’s happening: Taco Bell’s new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme. In other news, I’m hosting the Oscars,” O’Brien said in a statement.
Conan O’Brien. Pic: AP
He also shared a spoof short video on social media, showing him clasping an Oscar statuette and thanking the Academy for his Oscar, before clarifying he was hosting the show rather than receiving an award.
The 61-year-old TV presenter, writer, producer and comedian is best known for hosting the late-night talk shows Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien and Conan.
Before fronting his own self-named shows, he wrote for the enormously popular US late-night sketch show Saturday Night Live and the long-running satirical cartoon The Simpsons.
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Recently fronting a travelogue, Conan O’Brien Must Go, he currently hosts the podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.
Over his career, he has won five Primetime Emmys and earned 31 nominations for his work.
The last two years of the Oscars were hosted by comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who recently became emotional about Donald Trump’s re-election, and before that Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes shared the stage.
Between 2019 and 2021 the Oscars went without a main presenter.
O’Brien filming in Mexico in 2017, for his show Conan Without Borders. Pic: AP
Oscars executive producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan said in a statement: “Conan has all the qualities of a great Oscars host, he is incredibly witty, charismatic and funny and has proven himself to be a master of live event television.
“We are so looking forward to working with him to deliver a fresh, exciting and celebratory show for Hollywood’s biggest night.”
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While voting is yet to get underway, The Brutalist, Emilia Perez and Anora are among the early favourites to pick up gongs, according to bookmakers.
The 97th Oscars, which will celebrate films from 2024, will be held on Sunday 2 March 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
