Kristen Bell Reveals Her Actor Awards Hosting Plan: “I Don’t Roast, It’s Not In Me,” Heavier Topics Are “Not My Vibe” And She “Would Love To” Sing Again

This coming Sunday March 1st, Kristen Bell will take the stage as host of the newly-renamed Actor Awards, presented by SAG-AFTRA. But if you were expecting a Nikki Glaser-style roast with a side of political hot potatoes, think again.

“I don’t roast. It’s not in me,” she told Deadline, speaking via Zoom from her home. “If I’m going to roast anyone, it’s going to be me. That’s what’s funniest to me. So it will be light and goofy and hopefully still make you laugh. But I want everyone to feel welcome.”

As for any potential political commentary or heavier topics, Bell said, “It’s not my vibe. It never has been. Mainly because I wouldn’t do it well. I don’t really see the good that comes out of it. It doesn’t fall out of my mouth very well.”

I have an aversion to mean jokes, so I call them goofs because it’s a slightly more playful name. So I’ll be goofing on people. You’d better bet your butt I’ll be goofing on people, but no one’s going to walk away with hurt feelings.

Instead, she plans to approach the job as though she’s hosting for friends at home: “I like hosting. I’m a mom. Literally, there’s going to be a play date here — what time is it? In less than an hour. So sometimes we got two, three, four, five, six girls over here. I have dinner parties. I like cooking a meal and putting up place mats and telling my guests, ‘Don’t worry about taking your shoes off. The house is a mess anyway. Just come in and enjoy yourself.’ I see the hosting gig as the same thing. I’m trying not to make it all about me. I’m trying to have it come through me a very welcoming atmosphere of, isn’t it crazy that we’re all here? Let’s celebrate.”

But surely it will be tempting to at least gently tease some of those big-name actors? Is there anyone she’s frightened to put on the spot? “I wouldn’t say there’s anyone I’m afraid to make a joke about,” she said, “but understand that’s through the lens of my jokes are never going to tear a hole in your stomach. I have an aversion to mean jokes, so I call them goofs because it’s a slightly more playful name. So I’ll be goofing on people. You’d better bet your butt I’ll be goofing on people, but no one’s going to walk away with hurt feelings.”

For Bell, who most recently appeared in the Netflix comedy series Nobody Wants This, this will be her third time hosting the ceremony formerly known as the SAG Awards. In 2018, she became the first person ever to host the show, and returned as host in 2025, during which she brought the house down with her performance of the song “Do You Want to Be an Actor?” set to the tune of Frozen‘s “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” Given that she’s currently working on Frozen III, it seems as though singing again this year would be a pertinent choice.

“I wonder if I shot myself in the foot by doing the best song bit ever,” Bell said, recalling the 2025 experience. “But that came from everyone. The team was like, ‘What if we …?’ And it matched up perfectly and Bobby [Lopez] and Kristen [Anderson-Lopez] helped write it, the original writers. I certainly love to sing at any point in time. I just want to make sure that it’s applicable enough to the show, because people are not tuning in for a Kristen Bell concert, they’re tuning in to watch the Actor Awards. So provided that I feel like it gives more than it takes, I would love to.”

Whatever she might (or might not) sing, though, it needs to make sense, she said. “I can’t just decide to sing ‘My Heart Will Go On’ because I’ve always wanted to sing it as the opener. Just can you imagine I just have the microphone, I decide to sing something for my repertoire for no reason?”

I certainly love to sing at any point in time. I just want to make sure that it’s applicable enough to the show, because people are not tuning in for a Kristen Bell concert.

With the possibility of a song on the table, plus all that pressure, Bell is already on top of any possible nerves. Her solution? Beta blockers. “Obviously I’m not a medical professional,” she said, “but when I have to sing on stage, breath control is so linked to your heartbeat and your nervous system performance. And if I am super nervous and dysregulated because I’m in my head and overthinking, I have to be able to be grounded in order to have diaphragm control.So I take them when I sing and then I took one before I host, and it was great because it just takes the heart palpitations away. So no, I get anticipation and excitement, but not a paralyzing nervousness.”

Looking back on her previous hosting experiences, Bell recalled a favorite memory. “I remember when I hosted in 2018, on one of my travels from A to B backstage, I ran into Sam Rockwell. He was nominated [in Supporting Actor for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri]. And I couldn’t even walk to my next mark without cornering him and being like, ‘You are so, so brilliant. And I know this is so annoying, but I have to just get it out of my body and let the compliment land on you. And I need you to take it because I otherwise I’ll spend my whole life being like, Oh, I wish I could tell him how great he is.'”

She continued, “I’m a big believer that when you have a compliment inside you, you’ve got to give it away. You’ve got to tell the waitress that they have pretty eyes. You have to tell your friends they did a good job. I often send people voice memos when I see them in projects or see them on a billboard or have any sort of success. I think compliments need to be reckless and recklessly be given up.”

The 32nd Annual Actor Awards Presented by SAG-AFTRA will stream live globally on Netflix Sunday, March 1 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.