Comedian and actor Kevin Hart is all set to host the 2019 Academy Awards, a role he says fulfills a longtime dream.
The announcement came hours after trade publication The Hollywood Reporter posted a story calling the Oscars host position “the least wanted job in Hollywood.”
“I am blown away simply because this has been a goal on my list for a long time...To be able to join the legendary list of hosts that have graced this stage is unbelievable,” Hart wrote. “I know my mom is smiling from ear to ear right now. I will be sure to make sure this years Oscars a special one,” Hart wrote.
Those include shortening the broadcast to three hours, and also presenting certain categories during commercial breaks and broadcasting excerpts of those winners’ speeches later in the show.
The 39-year-old Hart has become a bankable star with films such as Ride Along, Jumanji- Welcome to the Jungle and Night School.
Celebrities including Martin Lawrence and Chris Rock, who hosted the ceremony in 2005 and 2016, posted congratulatory messages about Hart’s selection on Tuesday night.
“Damn I’ve lost another job to Kevin Hart,” Rock posted on Instagram, echoing a joke he told during his 2016 opening monologue . “They got the best person for the job.”
