Kevin Hart has a new job — he will host the 2019 Academy Awards, a role the actor-comedian says fulfills a longtime dream.
The Ride Along actor announced his selection for the 91st Oscars in an Instagram statement Tuesday.
“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 host that have graced this stage is unbelievable,” Hart wrote. “I know my mom is smiling from ear to ear right now.”
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“I will be sure to make sure this years Oscars are a special one,” Hart wrote.
The announcement came hours after trade publication The Hollywood Reporter posted a story calling the Oscars host position “the least wanted job in Hollywood.”
Hart clearly doesn’t feel that way, writing on Instagram that it has been on his list of dream jobs for years.
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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences followed up with a tweet that welcomed him “to the family.”
Hart takes over hosting duties from Jimmy Kimmel, who presided over the last two ceremonies, including 2016’s flub that resulted in the wrong best picture winner being announced. Last year’s ceremony was an all-time ratings low, and the film academy has announced a series of changes to the upcoming show.
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.
“Congratulations amigo – @TheAcademy made an excellent choice. You are going to kill it,” Kimmel said of Hart.
Celebrities including Chris Rock, who hosted the ceremony in 2016, posted congratulatory messages about Hart’s selection 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.”
Hart’s co-star on Real Husbands of Hollywood Nick Cannon congratulated the comedian on Instagram.
“Couldn’t be happier for this a**hole!!! @kevinhart4real. Real talk my bro deserves every bit of what God is blessing him with. The hardest working, kindest and most genuine dude in the business. The Oscars are lucky to have you!!,” Cannon wrote. “You are gonna kill it!! Plus you the same size as the Oscar!!”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq_m0DCBeh8/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=hp6a673nszsh
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Hart’s fans also congratulated him on Twitter.
Hart previously hosted the MTV Movie Awards along with Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson.
The 2019 Oscars will be broadcast Feb. 24 on ABC.
—With files from the Associated Press
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