Emmys Host Works Out His Issues

Will Ryan Seacrest's insecurities make him a great Emmys host?

Daniel Fienberg
Zap2It.com

September 16 2007

LOS ANGELES -- Here we were thinking that the reason why Ryan Seacrest hosted "American Idol," a radio show, E! News, New Years Eve specials and myriad award shows and local restaurant openings was that he was bent on world media domination.

It turns out that Seacrest's actual motivations are far more psychologically revealing.

"Believe it or not, I was the kid who wasn't always asked to go to the dance, if you know what I mean," Seacrest explains to reporters on a conference call in anticipation of his latest hosting gig, Sunday (Sept. 16) night's 59th Primetime Emmys. "When I was much younger, I was picked on a little bit. So, to be asked to do anything is kind of exciting now. I do have a fear of failing and I do have a fear of things not working out and I frankly don't know how to do anything else."

We'd be wiping away a tear except that Seacrest is a man who candidly admits, "I find it pretty easy to make fun of me." While we also find it pretty easy to make fun of him, Seacrest's candor is always appreciated and it suggests that he may be exactly the right man to break through the puffery that so often plagues big-time Hollywood award shows. Certainly he's smart enough to avoid a bloated opening monologue.

"There will be plenty of comedy, thank God," Seacrest notes. "The good news is, Lewis Black is going to be there, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Ellen, they've all RSVPed, so fortunately we know that there will be laughs within this three hours. I am not a stand-up comedian, so I don't think I'm gonna go out and try to prove myself a late-night host in the first act of the Emmys."

Instead, the show will open with a music number that has already stirred up extensive speculation. Will Seacrest sing? Will Seacrest dance? Will Seacrest even be able to make it on time? Before he can even take the stage at the Shrine Auditorium, Seacrest is producing the E! red carpet special.

"You might find this surprising, but I have no plan at all to get from A-to-B yet," Seacrest says of his point-to-point exit strategy.

While the usual assortment of hosts come from a comedy or entertainment background, Seacrest has some advantages learned from his decade doing live events in all media.

"The one thing that I have learned, hosting 'American Idol' for so many seasons now, is that the best thing to do is really try and be honest in a moment and be real in a moment," he says. "And if you're pretending or trying to be something that you're not, then odds are that you're going to A) Screw up or B) It's just not going to work."

Regardless of how Seacrest does on Sunday, odds are he'll continue to be offered at least some sort of work.

"I host a great deal of television, which is fantastic, but I'm asked probably on a daily basis to do a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah greeting for someone's home video camera," he says. "I did about three of them already today."

The Emmys air Sunday night on FOX.