OSCARS

This is the reason why Steve Martin will never host the Oscars

The 79-year-old has hosted the Academy Awards three times in the past but explains why he would turn down the chance to do it again.

Andy Hall

Update: Feb 27th, 2025 05:37 EST

Before the Academy Awards announced that Conan O’Brien would be hosting the 97th edition of the ceremony, there was some speculation as to whether we would see Steve Martin as master of ceremonies at this year’s event.

Follow all the information on the 2025 Oscars

Martin recently compered the Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special - returning to the comedy show which he hosted 16 times between 1976 and 2022. And his name cropped up again before this year’s Academy Awards gala - an event he is also very familiar with.

Comedians Steve Martin and Martin Short will compete for Best Actor in a Comedy Series at the Emmys for their roles in "Only Murders in the Building," though it doesn't look like it will come between their incredible bond. pic.twitter.com/AQAJZiEyrQ
— CBS Sunday Morning 🌞 (@CBSSunday) July 18, 2024

Steve Martin’s Oscars appearances

Martin has hosted three editions of the Oscars - twice on his own (2001 and 2003) and once with Alec Baldwin (2010). Only five people have hosted the event more times than him, and of those, only two are still with us - Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg.

But the comedian, who turned 79 last August, has confessed that he is unlikely to appear on stage at the Oscars again - at least not as the host.

Hosting the Oscars is “a lot of work and a thankless task”

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times' Glenn Whipp, Martin explained why. “It represents so much work for us. And we love our summers. When I hosted before, I started working months ahead of time. And now I have a completely different life. I’m not as free. It’s a lot of work and we’re working".

A lot has changed in his life since he last undertook the role 15 years ago. “I’ve hosted the Oscars three times. The first two times, I was very nervous. But I overcame it because I’m a professional. And then the third time, I hosted with Alec Baldwin and I was not nervous at all,” he recalled. “Looking back, I realized, “Oh, I had someone else out there with me.”

And as someone who cannot resist a one-liner, Martin quipped another reason why the Oscars hosting job is not for him at this stage of his career. “I have a joke for the Oscars that I never used. But I always think it’s funny. I’ll come out and say, “I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, ‘Steve, how did you get to host the Oscars?’ It was easy. I just called my agent and I said, ‘Get me something thankless...’”