1. Steve Martin (2001, 2003)
He’s smart, classy and relaxed, an effortless performer with a sharp wit who knows how to hit the right tone, even when he hosted a show that began a few days after the Iraq war began. Plus the crew all say he’s the most low-maintenance host imaginable.
2. Hugh Jackman (2009)
When it seemed as if the standup-comic-as-Oscar-host tradition was becoming awfully tired, producers Bill Condon and Lawrence Mark brought in a singing, dancing, charismatic movie star to show what a new kind of host could do. Since then, no other star has come close to doing what Jackman did, maybe because none could.