Oscar Host Wanda Sykes Won’t Be Roasting Anyone During the Show, but She Is Bringing an Airhorn
variety.comMarc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorWanda Sykes has a very specific memory of hosting the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2009. “I shushed the first lady,” Sykes tells me, laughing. “I was sitting next to Michelle Obama and going over my notes, and she was trying to make conversation.
I’m looking over my cards and I gave her like a look like, ‘Uhhh, don’t you see I’m working? Stop talking.’ ”She tells this story to prove that she won’t be intimidated by the star wattage in the Dolby Theatre on March 27 when she makes her Academy Awards hosting debut alongside Amy Schumer and Regina Hall. “I don’t think I’ll get star-struck because I’m working,” she says. “When I’m focused and there to do a job, it’s all about getting the work done.” It all began for Sykes 35 years ago when she was just 23 and performed her first stand-up at a talent showcase in Washington, D.C. “Luckily, the show went well,” she remembers.From there, Sykes worked her way up to becoming one of Hollywood’s top comics.
In addition to winning a writing Emmy in 1999 for her work on HBO’s “The Chris Rock Show,” she’s appeared in dozens of television series, including “The New Adventures of Old Christine” and most recently, “The Good Fight.” In film, her credits range from “Monster-in- Law” to last year’s crime comedy “Breaking News in Yuba County.”Sykes signed on for the Oscars after she learned she wouldn’t have to do it alone.
She’s in production on Season 2 of her Netflix sitcom “The Upshaws” as well as “History of the World: Part II,” a Hulu series sequel to Mel Brooks’ 1981 film.
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