Ken Jeong has made it perfectly clear that he wants to host the Oscars.
After Kevin Hart’s departure from the coveted appointment, the Academy has reportedly been “scrambling” to find a replacement ahead of the event on Feb. 25, 2019.
Speaking to Seth Meyers on “Late Night,” Jeong — whose name has been floated as a potential replacement — pointed out just how desperate he is to get the gig.
“I was always taught that when you set goals, make sure you keep them very high.”
“If I do not become the host of the Oscars, I will consider not only my career, but my life, a failure,” Jeong said. “Any goal that’s out of your control that doesn’t really make sense whether you do it or not … I want it so bad.”
Subscribe to
NextShark's Newsletter
A daily dose of Asian America's essential stories, in under 5 minutes.
Get our collection of Asian America's most essential stories to your inbox daily for free.
Unsure? Check out our Newsletter Archive.
Whoopi Goldberg, a four-time Oscars host herself, endorsed Jeong for the job while speaking to Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show.” She said that he “would be brilliant.”
In an interview with ET Live, Jeong responded to Goldberg’s comments and described them as “lovely.”
“I was just so flattered that Whoopie had even said that,” said Jeong. “I didn’t even know she was gonna go on ‘Colbert.’ I just saw her on ‘The View’ yesterday morning, and, off camera, she was really serious about it. Like, ‘You know, you should host,’ and ‘I’m gonna talk to the Academy,’ and it was so lovely, you know, coming from her.”
Jeong believes that all the buzz surrounding his name would not have happened without the phenomenal success of “Crazy Rich Asians.”
“This is more of an embarrassment of riches situation, where I think it’s all about ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ and its unexpected box office success that has even allowed this chatter to happen.”
Still, Jeong isn’t counting chickens before they hatch — and he’s happy enough to be part of the show in “any way possible.”
“I honestly don’t even think about it except I’m so flattered to be thought of… If they asked me to be an on-set medic for it, I’d be glad,” the 49-year-old former private practice physician joked.
Featured Images via YouTube / Late Night with Seth Meyers
