Conan O'Brien on how he's preparing to host the 2025 Oscars

ByAngeline Jane Bernabe

Wednesday, January 29, 2025 6:11PM

Conan O'Brien on how he's preparing to host the 2025 Oscars

Comedian Conan O'Brien sat down with ABC News' Chris Connelly ahead of the Oscars and said that anything is possible for his first time as the host.

Conan O'Brien is prepping for his next big role: Oscars host.

The comedian sat down with ABC News' Chris Connelly ahead of Hollywood's biggest night and said that anything is possible for his first time as the host.

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"We polled America. I spent a lot of my own money polling Americans and saying, 'Would you like to see Conan O'Brien sing and dance?' Shocking response," he said. "People don't want it, which means they'll probably try and do it. I like to be an irritant. Let's just say there are many possibilities. There are many possibilities. And like I say, we'll see what happens. We'll see what happens as we get closer. And my involvement in the show could expand, it could contract. It'll all depend on where we are then."

"I will say this if you like close up magic tricks," he added. "You'll be very happy with my Oscars performance."

It's been three years since O'Brien wrapped his late night show, "Conan," and since then, he said that he's been saying "yes" a lot to things, including the Oscars.

"It's been three years since I stopped doing my late night show and I've been saying yes to things. It's been this time of yes," he said. "So I did an independent film at Sundance. I headlined at the Newport Folk Festival. I'm just saying yes to things that I wouldn't have done before. I'm a black belt in karate now. I'm a licensed neurosurgeon. I mean, there are all these things I'm doing now that I didn't think I would ever do before."

When it comes to poking fun at the celebrities in the audience that night, O'Brien joked and said that he'll "go after the ones that have personally been cruel" to him over the years.

He added, "I'm paying people to create moments."

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"I'm going to have a lot of fake moments that I can react to and people can say, 'Wow, Conan is a genius. How did he see that coming?'" he continued. "And then later on, I'm giving Tom Hanks $300 in the parking lot."

Ahead of the Oscars, O'Brien also talked about how he and producers are carefully crafting the show, which will take place just two months after wildfires devastated parts of Southern California, killing 29 people and destroying thousands of homes and buildings.

O'Brien noted that his own longtime assistant lost her home in the fires, saying, "There's a misconception sometimes that, oh, some rich people lost their homes ... This is something that touched everybody, regardless of your income."

O'Brien said he is keeping in mind what the Los Angeles area has been through as he prepares to host the Oscars.

"L.A. has just been through this traumatic experience," he said. "There's a lot that's happening nationally that people are very tense about and it changes day to day. And so my job right now with my writers is to create possibilities."

"That's what we're doing," he continued. "We're working hard to create possibilities. And then I don't know, I think we're going to have to get very close to the actual air date to figure out."

The 2025 Oscars will be held at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on March 2.

For the first time ever, the Oscars will stream live on Hulu. It will also be available to stream on Hulu the next day.