He’s happy to follow guests down whichever rabbit holes they lead him into: witness his long-running bit with Paul Rudd where every time the actor appeared on one of O’Brien’s shows, he’d play the exact same bizarre clip of an alien in a wheelchair going over a cliff from 1988’s Mac and Me instead of whatever Rudd was supposed to be promoting.
Some of the most memorable moments from his talk show years saw him embrace anarchy, whether it be the 2000 episode where he was attacked by a kangaroo, or the even more famous 1997 episode where he egged Norm Macdonald on to savage comedian Carrot Top’s ill-fated shot at movie stardom, Chairman of the Board (“I bet board is spelled B-O-R-E-D.”).
What makes O’Brien such a good awards show host is the same thing that cemented his popularity as a talk show host.
In truth, how broad and exuberant a performance O’Brien is able to deliver will have to be finely calibrated to the prevailing mood in Hollywood, a town still reeling from the devastating fires that so badly affected multiple neighborhoods across Los Angeles.
“To me,” he wrote on social media, “it feels like Nero fiddling while Rome burns.” The Academy subsequently announced that the ceremony would do without Best Original Song performances and will instead use that time in the show to “honor Los Angeles as the city of dreams, showcasing its beauty and resilience.”.
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