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Chris Rock’s Top 5 Oscar Moments

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Chris Rock hosting the Academy Awards in 2005 (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chris Rock has just been confirmed as the host of next year’s Academy Awards, but this isn’t the first time the comedian has been front and center at Hollywood’s biggest event. Rock hosted the awards ceremony once before in 2005, and has been a reliably funny presenter on multiple occasions. Here are his top five Oscar moments, including highlights from his previous hosting and presenting gigs, and a very funny hosting postmortem with David Letterman.

Opening Monologue, 2005

“You know why I love the Oscars? The Oscars are the only awards show where the people getting awards don’t perform. That’s right — there’s no acting at the Oscars,” Rock pointed out in his opening monologue. Though he got some flack for these jokes — particularly his harsh ribbing of Jude Law (“Why is [Law] in every movie I have seen the last four years?”) — he did an admirable job getting laughs out of such tough material as The Passion of the Christ and Fahrenheit 9/11. Plus, Rock didn’t hold back from cracking jokes about the year’s bad movies (“You ever see a movie so bad that you question the actor’s finances?”) — a refreshing change of pace on Hollywood’s most self-congratulatory night.

Presenting Best Animated Feature, 2012

Rock took this 90-second opportunity to take some well-deserved shots at mainstream animated films. “I love animation because, in the world of animation, you can be anything you want to be,” said Rock. If you’re a fat woman, you can play a skinny princess. If you’re a short, wimpy guy, you can play a tall gladiator. If you’re a white man, you can play an Arabian prince. And if you’re a black man, you can play a donkey or a zebra.”

Presenting Best Sound Effects Editing, 1999

The first time Rock presented at the Oscars, he joked that “somebody has a death wish if they want me to come up here.” Then he added, “Actually there’s no reason to be nervous because my category is sound effects editing. And who am I gonna offend, a foley artist?” Nevertheless, he was one of the few people that night to address the elephant in the room head-on, making a joke about controversial honorary Oscar recipient and former McCarthy informant Elia Kazan (whom he called a “rat,” eliciting some groans from the audience).

Taking a Best Picture Poll, 2005

During his hosting gig, Rock demonstrated that the Academy was out of touch with ordinary moviegoers by taking a “What was last year’s best picture?” survey at the Magic Johnson Theater in Harlem. Few people had seen actual nominees Million Dollar Baby and Sideways, but Rock received enthusiastic votes for Saw, Chronicles of Riddick, and White Chicks (which even got an endorsement from Albert Brooks).

Post-Oscar Letterman Interview, 2005

A few months after the Academy Awards, while promoting his film The Longest Yard, Rock dropped by The Late Show with David Letterman to exchange Oscar hosting war stories. Mostly, Rock was baffled that people took the whole thing so seriously. “Martin Scorsese doesn’t have an Oscar but Kevin Costner has two. What does that mean?” he joked.