Chris Rock announced on Twitter on Wednesday that he will host the Academy Awards for a second time. He first emceed the 77th annual Academy Awards in 2005, the year Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby won four awards, including Best Picture.
“Comedian, actor, writer, producer, director, documentarian — he’s done it all,” Oscars producers David Hill and Reginald Hudlin said in a statement. “He’s going to be a phenomenal Oscar host!”
“Chris may be best known as a stand-up comic, but we think of him as a creative innovator in many other ways. He is unafraid in his artistry,” said Academy CEO Dawn Hudson.
Rock, who made history as the telecast’s first black host, added in a statement that “it’s great to be back.”
Last year’s ceremony was hosted by television and Broadway star Neil Patrick Harris, and the previous year Ellen DeGeneres was at the helm.
The nominees for the 88th ceremony will be announced on January 14, 2016, with the show scheduled to air from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on February 28, 2016.
