Hosting the Oscars seems like a great honor that no one would really want, since every host since Billy Crystal has been almost universally panned. Jon Stewart hosted in 2006 and 2008, and the episodes of The Daily Show where the correspondents made fun of his performance were always more funny than Stewart during the ceremony itself. Let’s just not even mention poor David Letterman.

The new Oscars producers threw us for a loop when they bypassed the traditional TV host/stand-up comedians and hired the “Sexiest Man Alive” Hugh Jackman as host.

For those who only recognize Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, he’s not a novice. He hosted the Tony awards from 2003 to 2005, and won an Emmy in 2004. He is quick-witted with improv and knows how to work a room, as he did as Peter Allen in The Boy from Oz.

Plus, he’s really hot. He told Entertainment Weekly he’s not afraid to use his sex appeal if it helps turn the Oscars into a party.

I’m Australian. I think it goes with the citizenship, doesn’t it? When I have a party, the first thing I do is give the guests a shot glass with a little vodka or something. Now, I can’t do that for all 6,000 people at the Kodak Theatre, but I’ll be trying to do it in spirit. It’s going to be a celebration of movies. We’re in the world of showbiz, and the Oscars have to be more show than business.

…Nudity. I’m planning on getting nude for a lot of it….No words, nothing, just me having a shower. That’s also a very Australian thing to do at a party.

[From Entertainment Weekly, print edition, February 6 issue]

With Oscar ratings in decline since Titanic had its banner year, new producers Bill Condon and Laurence Mark appear to be going for a more “That’s Entertainment!” vibe.

Listen, it’s too early to give details, but it’s fair to say there’s going to be singing and dancing. The fact that they’ve hired me is a sign they’re taking a different route. I’m not a stand-up comedian, and that’s generally the way things have gone. But I’ve done some hosting, and I really enjoy it….I do love things going off script. I hope there’ll be some spontaneity. If people know what to expect, then your party’s dead.

[From Entertainment Weekly, print edition, February 6 issue]

Hugh admits the Oscars are too long and promises they’ll be shorter, although he doesn’t say how, considering they’re still handing out 24 awards, including those that few people outside of show business care about, like Art Direction and Sound Mixing.

Hugh confesses that he dreamed of someday hosting the Academy Awards after his Tony gig, but he figured it would be at least another decade before it might happen.

I couldn’t get back to sleep, I was so excited….I told my wife and she was jumping up and down on the bed. The thought of a kid from the northern suburbs of Sydney hosting it, that took a while to sink in.

[From Entertainment Weekly, print edition, February 6 issue]

Hugh is a great talent, Viva Laughlin notwithstanding, so I hope he does well as host. If he flops, then I hope he at least hosts some of the show from the shower.

The Oscars with Hugh Jackman as host will air February 22.

Hugh Jackman is shown out in NY with his son Oscar, 3, daughter Ava, 3 and a half, and his wife of 12 years Deborra-Lee Furness. Credit: Splash News.