Neil Patrick Harris is set to host the Academy Awards in 2015.
This is the first time Harris will be presiding over the Oscars, however he is no stranger to hosting award ceremonies. The How I Met Your Mother star has hosted the Tonys four times and the Emmys twice.
“We are thrilled to have Neil host the Oscars,” said show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. “We have known him his entire adult life, and we have watched him explode as a great performer in feature films, television and stage. To work with him on the Oscars is the perfect storm, all of his resources and talent coming together on a global stage.”
“It is truly an honor and a thrill to be asked to host this year’s Academy Awards. I grew up watching the Oscars and was always in such awe of some of the greats who hosted the show,” Harris said in a statement. “To be asked to follow in the footsteps of Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal, Ellen DeGeneres, and everyone else who had the great fortune of hosting is a bucket list dream come true.”
Harris made the announcement today in a video that he posted to his Twitter account, which shows him circling “Host the Oscars” off of his bucket list. You can watch the video here.
Despite never having been nominated for an Oscar, Harris has made an appearance at the ceremony. In 2010, he performed the show’s opening number.
The 87th Academy Awards will air February 22 on ABC from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Last year’s telecast was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres and scored 43 million viewers, making it the most-watched Oscars in the past ten years.
