Ricky Gervais to Host 2010 Golden Globes

Ricky Gervais, the mind behind The Office, has been confirmed to host the 67th annual Golden Globes, as Variety reported Monday.

The British comedian, also a past Golden Globe and Emmy winner, is hardly a stranger to such award shows. However, his attendance record does show that as the ceremony’s first host since 1995, he will hardly be the best behaved. At last year’s award ceremony, he bullied Steve Carell into giving back the Emmy he accepted on Gervais’ behalf in 2007. “I can do anything,” he told Carell. “This is live.”

In 2008, Gervais also told the BBC that he would turn down a chance to host the Oscars if offered. “No one’s there to hear jokes. They’re there to see if they’ve won an Oscar,” he said. “I still want to be invited. I want the invite to turn it down.”

But in a statement made yesterday, Gervais conveyed a rather different tone. “Not only is this the biggest Hollywood celebration of the industry which includes both film and TV, but also an environment where I feel I can get free reign as a host,” he said. “I have resisted many other offers like this, but there are just some things you don’t turn down."

The awards ceremony airs Jan. 17, 2010 on NBC.

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