Through one of the most tumultuous periods in Oscar history, through flub and slap, Jimmy Kimmel has emerged as the steadying hand and abiding face of the Academy Awards.
When Kimmel hosts the 96th Oscars on Sunday, he’ll be emceeing the telecast for the fourth time. Only three people — Bob Hope (19 times), Billy Crystal (nine times) and Johnny Carson (five times) — will have hosted more than him.
After Kimmel hosted the 2017 and 2018 ceremonies, he watched the Oscars experiment without a host and then with a trio of them. But after returning last year to right the ship following the Will Smith fracas, Kimmel has proven adept at a balancing act that has eluded most others.
“It’s an experience that I try to remember is special,” Kimmel said in a recent interview. “I just want to make sure for the people who are watching and the people who are there that we bring the proper amount of respect and also the proper amount of disrespect to the proceedings.”
Kimmel spoke as he prepared for Sunday’s show in between his day job at “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” That includes sifting through possible jokes, posing for photographs he’d rather not and plenty of Oscar discussion around the dinner table, too. Molly McNearney, Kimmel’s wife, is an executive producer on the broadcast.
Through one of the most tumultuous periods in Oscar history, through flub and slap, Jimmy Kimmel has emerged as the steadying hand and abiding face of the Academy Awards.
When Kimmel hosts the 96th Oscars on Sunday, he’ll be emceeing the telecast for the fourth time. Only three people — Bob Hope (19 times), Billy Crystal (nine times) and Johnny Carson (five times) — will have hosted more than him.
After Kimmel hosted the 2017 and 2018 ceremonies, he watched the Oscars experiment without a host and then with a trio of them. But after returning last year to right the ship following the Will Smith fracas, Kimmel has proven adept at a balancing act that has eluded most others.
“It’s an experience that I try to remember is special,” Kimmel said in a recent interview. “I just want to make sure for the people who are watching and the people who are there that we bring the proper amount of respect and also the proper amount of disrespect to the proceedings.”
Kimmel is by now an old hand at a highly specialized gig. Last year’s broadcast drew 18.7 million viewers, the most since 2020.
“I’m pretty calm,” said Kimmel. “I can’t speak for everyone else.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.