James Franco Took Oscar Host Gig Because His Representatives Told Him To Turn It Down

The Pineapple Express actor is such a wild card!

James Franco will co-host the Oscars this year with fellow actor Anne Hathaway and he tells Entertainment Weekly he's "confident" it'll go well.

"I’m happy to take the criticism. Even if it’s ‘The Worst Oscars Ever,’ I don’t care. It’s one night of the year," James says, who admits that his initial reaction was "no."

When Academy Awards producer Bruce Cohen asked Franco to do the gig, the star "thought about it and I thought, well, why not? Because I'll look bad? Well, I don't care."

Franco also explains how his handlers urged him to turn down the opportunity: "All my representatives were saying, ‘No! Of course not!' So that always sparks something in me. So I said, ‘Yes, of course!’ Because that reaction that they have is based on conventional wisdom of what makes a good career. And that can be boring - really boring."