Lin-Manuel Miranda just had a massive year. He put out a movie version of his first musical In The Heights, he was part of writing the music for two original animated musicals and he made his directorial debut with Tick, Tick… Boom! With that in mind, you’d think he might be in the running to host the Academy Awards this year. As the multi-hyphenate creative has now shared, he has thought it through and the Oscars hosting gig is not for him.
As Miranda celebrates a fruitful 2021 and the Oscars still on the search for a host, the Hamilton playwright got candid about why you can count him out of fronting Hollywood’s biggest night:
I have said no in the past. I really don’t think that that’s my skill set. It’s not something I’m comfortable doing, hosting, mainly because I’ve been lucky enough to work with incredible hosts. I’ve written for Neil Patrick Harris, I’ve written his opening numbers and closing numbers for the Tonys. That is a whole other thing. He is a genius at that, he and Hugh Jackman. I actually don’t think… that’s not something I feel confident in.
While speaking to People, Lin-Manuel Miranda shared that he does not feel “confident” that he could be a host, especially considering he has worked behind the scenes with past Tonys hosts Neil Patrick Harris and Hugh Jackman. The Tick, Tick… Boom! director said he was “happy to write for the host” of the Oscars as he’s done for Broadway’s award show equivalent, but Miranda has turned down the opportunity and would do so if asked again.
Back in 2017, Miranda shared that he felt like hosting the Oscars is “the most thankless task in the world”. Five years later, Miranda’s thoughts about it are the same. The Academy Awards has not had a host since Jimmy Kimmel did so in 2018. The year following, Kevin Hart was set to host before a Twitter controversy led to him stepping down and the award show went on without one.
The Academy Awards have been struggling to stay relevant as ratings plummet almost every year and 2021’s ceremony was thought to be a disaster by many. After three years without a host, the Academy has said it will be hiring a host or hosts for 2022. A recent report claimed that Spider-Man actor Tom Holland has been approached to host, but at this point it’s not been announced who will step up to the plate and do the show this year.
Nominations for the Oscars will be announced on February 8 and the show itself will take place on March 27 in Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre. Among the attendees we do expect Lin-Manuel Miranda considering Encanto has been such a hit, especially now that it is a movie on Disney+. Also, could Tick, Tick… Boom! be among the musicals to win Best Picture? We’ll keep you posted here on CinemaBlend with award season coverage.