Steve Martin won’t host the Oscars again: ‘They don’t pay’
Steve Martin has hosted the Oscars alone twice and once with Alec Baldwin, but the movie star has no plans on returning as the award show host.
During an interview with the LA Times, Martin shared that hosting alone made him "nervous," but once he had a partner, it became easier. The outlet asked if he would return with his friend, Martin Short, to host the Oscars, and he said no.
"That represents so much work for us. And we love our summers," Martin said. "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."
Martin was referring to the show, "Only Murders in the Building," which stars Short and Selena Gomez.
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Martin doubled-down on not returning as host and clarified that he had not been asked by the Oscars to do so.
"They don’t pay, either," Martin said of the Oscars. "The Golden Globes pay, so they get Tina Fey and Amy [Poehler]. And Ricky Gervais. The Oscars should pay. When you consider the amount of work, it’s at least several months of mental churning."
Martin revealed he wrote a joke for the Oscars but never used it.
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"I have a joke for the Oscars that I never used. But I always think it’s funny," he began. "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.'"
During the same interview with the LA Times, Martin revealed that he will not be joining the "Saturday Night Live" cast to portray Kamala Harris' running-mate, Gov. Tim Walz.
Martin received a phone call from "SNL" producer Lorne Michaels asking him to appear on the famed comedy show. "I wanted to say no and, by the way, he wanted me to say no," Martin told the outlet about his phone call with Michaels.
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"I said, 'Lorne, I’m not an impressionist. You need someone who can really nail the guy.' I was picked because I have gray hair and glasses," he continued.
The actor also noted that the commitment to appearing as Walz on "SNL" would be "ongoing," which does not align with his current schedule.
"It’s ongoing. It’s not like you do it once and get applause and never do it again," Martin told the outlet. "Again, they need a real impressionist to do that. They’re going to find somebody really, really good. I’d be struggling."