By: Liz Slocum ~Staff Writer~
On Feb. 22, many Americans will be tuning in to watch the 87th Academy Awards for the glitz, glamour and the antics of the celebrity host .
This time the host will be theactor, producer, director and singer Neil Patrick Harris of “How I Met your Mother” fame. The veteran performer, who himself is a multiple Emmy and Tony winner at the age of 41, will be announcing the 2015 Oscar nominees at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. In the past, Harris hosted four broadcasts of Broadway’s Tony Awards and
two of TV’s Primetime Emmy Awards.
Though Harris has performed in the Academy Awards show in the past, leading an opening songand- dance routine at the 2010 Awards hosted by Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, this will be the first time the show has had him as a host. The “Gone Girl” star announced the news of his role as host in a video he shared via Twitter on Oct. 15.
That same day, Harris made an official statement released by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In the statement, he acknowledged past hosts and expressed his excitement at finally getting to fulfill what has been a dream of his for quite a while. “It is an honor and a thrill to be asked to host this year’s Academy Awards,” he said.
“I grew up watching the Oscars and was always in such awe of some of the greats who hosted
the show. To be asked to follow in the footsteps of Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal, Ellen DeGeneres and everyone else who had the great fortune of hosting is a bucket list dream come true.”
The Awards’ co-producers Craig Zadan and Neil Maron, who are set to produce the show for the third consecutive year, have also released a statement through the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences stating that they are excited to have Harris as a host. “We are thrilled to have Neil host the Oscars,” they said. “We have known him his entire adult life, and we have watched him explode as a great performer in feature films, television and stage.
To work with him on the Oscars is the perfect storm, all of his resources and talent coming together on a global stage.”