Oscars Hosts Throughout The Years (And How They Were Ranked)
Remember when Beyoncé and Zac Efron performed a medley of musical numbers?
Who is hosting the Oscars this year, you ask? None other than Jimmy Kimmel, and it's not his first time either. The late-night TV presenter has previously hosted the star-studded event in 2017, 2018 and in 2023, making this year his fourth time hosting.
Over the years, the Oscars hosting gig has been dubbed 'the worst job in town' and now has a reputation for no high-profile figure wanting to associate themselves with it. Why is this? Well, it's an incredibly scrutinised role, the critique can often be brutal - see below examples of Anne Hathaway and James Franco hosting in 2011.
As the event is live streamed, it's very easy to make mistakes and for jokes in host's monologues to 'go south', or things to turn super intense - remember when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the award show back in 2022? Co-host of that year, Amy Schumer stated that the incident left her feeling 'triggered and traumatised.'
In 2013 host Seth MacFarlane explained to Entertainment Weekly in 2018: 'Look, it’s a gig that has all eyes on it. And when you’re doing something that’s that much in the spotlight, with that much focus on it, that much intensity, you’re going to have a lot of opinions from a lot of people. I’m trying to think of the last time that I read a review of the Oscars the next day where everyone is raving about it—it’s been a long time.'
With that in mind, let's look at the Oscars hosts that have done it well along with the ones that didn't get such rave reviews...
Billy Crystal - 1990 - 1993, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2012
The When Harry Met Sally star has hosted the Oscars nine times, the second most of any host after Bob Hope - who was a regular, hosting the Academy Awards 19 times.
One of his most popular features as host, which he did twice both in 2000 and 2004, was 'What The Stars Are Thinking' where he imagined the internal thoughts of stars like, Jack Nicholson ('you know what? I'm still the coolest guy in the room'.)
Chris Rock - 2005 and 2016
The comedian has hosted the Oscars twice, including in 2016 when the #OscarsSoWhite controversy embroiled the awards over its lack of Black, Asian and minority ethnic nominees. Naturally, Rock didn't shy away from the furore and addressed it head on in his monologue, welcoming people to the Oscars 'otherwise known as the White People's Choice Awards'.
Ellen DeGeneres - 2007 and 2014
The talk show presenter has hosted the Academy Awards twice in 2007 and then seven years later in 2014. During the latter, she broke the internet taking a star-studded selfie featuring Bradley Cooper, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
Hugh Jackman - 2009
The Les Miserables star broke into song during his opening monologue where he serenaded Kate Winslet, scooped up Anne Hathaway from her seat and brought her up on stage and struggled to maintain composure as he sang an ode to the nominated films.
He then delivered another musical number calling on the help of Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Amanda Seyfried and Beyoncé... yes, Beyoncé, and they all sang a medley of numbers from Chicago, Grease, Moulin Rouge and Dreamgirls.
Jimmy Kimmel - 2017, 2018, 2023
The last TV personality to host the Oscars before it went (temporarily) host-less was late night TV presenter Jimmy Kimmel. In 2016, running the theme of healing a fractured USA, Kimmel used his monologue to 'bury the hatchet' with Matt Damon, after a long-running mock feud and berated Meryl Streep for her very average career (not!) on the occasion of her 20th Oscar nomination. We're excited to see what he brings to the stage for 2024!
Neil Patrick Harris - 2015
The musical theatre and TV actor took over hosting duties in 2015 after previously successful stints hosting the Tony and Emmy awards. The reaction to his stint was mixed (the Guardian said he 'failed to deliver') but he was praised for his musical numbers and appeared in underwear to honour Best Picture winner Birdman.
Whoopi Goldberg - 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2002
A four-time Oscar host, clearly Goldberg was doing something right. Thoroughly getting into the swing of the night, Goldberg dressed up as Queen Elizabeth I in 1999 and a showgirl - wearing a sequin tassel mini dress and top hat - in 2002.
Goldberg also made history as the first woman, and first Black person to host the Academy Awards.
Seth MacFarlane - 2013
The Family Guy creator hosted the show in 2013, though he won some praise for his hosting gig, unsurprisingly (if you've bore witness to MacFarlane's no-holds-barred comedy before) it didn't go down without some controversy.
His opening number 'We Saw Your Boobs' namechecked a list of actor's who appeared topless in films, was criticised by several media outlets and notable feminists.
Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin - 2010
The Father Of The Bride actor has hosted the actors solo twice before, but in 2010 returned with Alec Baldwin.
The actors arrived to deliver their monologue from the ceiling (with Cabaret feather dancers either side of them) where they gave some old-school Hollywood simple jokes: 'Oh there's that damn Helen Mirren...' 'Oh no, that's Dame Helen Mirren.'
Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes - 2022
On the surface, the 2022 Oscars being hosted by three powerhouse female comedians should have been an iconic moment, but ultimately, the whole evening was completely overshadowed by an incident that had nothing to do with their hosting talent - when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock over a joke made about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
James Franco and Anne Hathaway - 2011
If you're to research rankings on Oscars hosts, you'll unfortunately likely find Anne Hathaway and James Franco quite far down on the list. An immediate review from The Hollywood Reporter called the idea to have Franco and Hathaway host the show 'spectacularly bad' and predicted the gig could go down as 'the worst Oscars telecast in history'.
In what was described as a move to broaden the Academy Awards' appeal to younger voters, the two actors were selected to host the awards. Having appeared in different films and with no clear friendship, it seemed an odd choice which was confirmed recently in a behind-the-scenes article on The Ringer where writer of that Oscars show, David Wild called it an 'incredibly dark significant comic event in my life'.
In a 2019 People interview, Hathaway claimed she had turned the interview down at first but was persuaded by Franco to do it.
'When all the dust settled, I was just like "You've got to be kidding me". Your first instinct is usually the right one, and all the reasons why I turned it down came true.'
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