It’s an open secret that hosting an awards show is one of the most difficult jobs in Hollywood. If you do a poor job you’re criticized for weeks, but if you do it well, it’s barely a blip on the radar. Even though she is fully aware of the risks of the gig, hosting the Emmys or the Oscars is a job comedian and Emmy nominee Nikki Glaser wants.
“I think I would do a really good job, so I can’t wait to host something. I think it’s imminent,” Glaser told TheWrap.
The comedian, who is currently nominated for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) for her HBO standup special “Someday You’ll Die,” is no stranger to jobs that terrify other people. She pointed to her recent appearance on “The Roast of Tom Brady” as a recent example. Though she likened the Netflix special to her own personal Olympics, and called roasts in general “draining and exhausting,” Glaser emerged as one of the roast’s most praised participants.
“I’m not scared of difficult gigs. Where I thrive is where other talent would probably say no because it’s such a risk. [At an awards show] you could get canceled for something you say, and the crowd is overly sensitive or takes themselves too seriously,” Glaser said. “I really feel like I can strike that tone because I really not only respect show business and desperately want its approval, but I also find it ridiculous and can’t believe I’m in it.”
During her recent appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Glaser even told the late night host that she wanted the Brady roast to be her own Oscars. While they were talking during a break, Glaser recalled Kimmel asking her “something to the effect of ‘Was that a scary gig?’”
“‘You know exactly what that gig is,’” Glaser said in response. “I remember watching his Oscar performance thinking, ‘Man that’s what I hope to do with the roast, just take this thing that no one else really wants and just knock it out of the park.”
Right now the Oscars hosting gig in particular is one of the least desired in Hollywood. So far the job has been turned by Kimmel, who has hosted it four times, and John Mulaney. Kimmel recently explained why he turned down the job for 2025, saying, “It was just too much last year.”
Glaser also pointed to her experience hosting “F-Boy Island” and “Lovers and Liars” as proof she’s not worried about bombing in a room. Each episode of the dating reality series features Glaser delivering a monologue of jokes.
“I would bomb every single elimination ceremony because it was 10 minutes of jokes, and [the contestants] all think they’re going home so they would be so nervous, so tense — zero laughs. But I knew the control room was cracking up,” Glaser said. “I was really perfectly trained to perform in tough rooms and high-intensity situations where the stakes are really high.”
Even if the worst happens and she is canceled, Glaser has a plan for that too. “Then I’ll just go start an animal rescue,” Glaser joked. “I really do think that I can find happiness outside of this business, but I would like to keep working in it as long as possible.”
If asked to host, Glaser is confident she could hit the “right tone” of both pleasing the notoriously prickly audiences for the Emmys and Oscars, while also aiming to “push the envelope a little bit.”
“I’m actually actively seeking the next job that terrifies me. I can’t wait to get that call,” Glaser said.
