He may have landed a plum gig hosting the Oscars next year, but Eddie Murphy is making sure expectations of his performance stay low. The 50-year-old actor and comic joked that people should expect the worst from him come awards night on February 26 2011. 'I think it's so funny that people think I'm the perfect for this,' he said during an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
'I'm going to be horrendous. I'm going to be the worst host ever.'The star was speaking as he promoted his new film Tower Heist with Ben Stiller - last night he stepped out on the red carpet to promote the movie in New York City. He made a few more jokes about what will take place while he hosts the show, which will again take place at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
“It’s just going to be me introducing people and looking straight on [the camera],' she said. “And I’m going to wear a powdered sky-blue tuxedo, and at the end of the evening, I’m going to urinate on myself in front of a billion people. Just letting you know - the worst host ever.' The actor also told the programme that the idea for him to host came during a conversation with Heist director Brett Ratner, who will also be producing next year's Oscar ceremony.
'The conversation came up about who would host and [Ratner] was saying different names,' recalled Eddie. 'And I was like, you know, if I hosted that show, it would probably get nice little chatter for our movie before the movie came out — that I was hosting the Oscars. And that’s kind of how it happened.'However next year's gig will be very different from the last time Eddie attended the Oscars back in 2007. The star left early after losing out to Little Miss Sunshine star Alan Arkin in the Best Supporting Actor category - he was nominated for his role in Dreamgirls.
'I'm looking forward to doing it and I promise I'll stay there all night,' Eddie recently said at a press conference, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He also said he doesn't feel nervous at all. 'Oscars is a fun thing to do. 'I don't feel the pressure. I get to introduce people and stand up straight. Maybe I'll be in a couple silly sketches or something.'
However, the host-to-be has yet to work on any material for the big night because 'no one's got nominated yet.'Nominations will be announced at the beginning of February next year. The actor has not hosted an awards show since the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards ceremony, and says he accepted the Oscar job because he 'never got to it. I've only been to the Oscars two or three times in 30 years.'
Meanwhile Rush Hour director Ratner is clearly a big fan of the Beverly Hills cop star. He said during the filming of Heist that he literally had to pinch himself 'every day on set to believe it.'Eddie follows in the illustrious footsteps of Oscar hosts Bob Hope and Johnny Carson. Anne Hathaway and James Franco fronted the awards earlier this year, to mixed reviews.