Oscars 2015: Neil Patrick Harris to officially host

How about this for the door being blown off the Academy Awards entirely? We now know who is going be hosting the upcoming 2015 edition of the popular awards show, and it is someone very experienced with hosting already.

Neil Patrick Harris, in taking on this awards show, is getting pretty close to scoring an EGOT when it comes to emceeing. He has hosted both the Emmys and the Tomys multiple times, and this is the first time he’s taking on this role for the movie awards show. In a way, we’re surprised by the announcement. While he has proven to be more than capable, we don’t commonly think of him as someone affiliated with film. Then again, the same could be said for Ellen DeGeneres, who hosted the show earlier this year.

What Neil brings to the table is the charm and the performing ability needed to show the Oscars the respect they deserve, while also the laughs. He’s not a standup comic by any means, but he’s a lover of entertainment, and he’ll get a laugh in the way that some of the old-school hosts did.

Also, the timing seems about right for him to come on over for this gig and people will simultaneously miss him. Neil has not been a fixture on TV since the end of “How I Met Your Mother,” and he’s had a chance to go away for a little while. The last high-profile appearance he made was at the Tonys, where he was honored for his role as Hedwig on Broadway.

The Oscars will air on ABC come Sunday, February 22.