The IT Crowd star Matt Berry to be the Oscars announcer as delighted fans hope British comic will bring his peculiar pronunciations to the role

Matt Berry is set to be the Oscars announcer at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday. 

The Bedfordshire-born actor, comic and jazz musician, 51, will be introducing presenters to the stage in a role that was previously taken on by Nick Offerman. 

Matt is best known for starring in The IT Crowd, Toast Of London, The Mighty Boosh and Darkplace.

His star has risen in America thanks to his role in vampire comedy What We Do In Shadows. 

This year’s Oscars will be hosted by Conan O'Brien and it will be screened on ITV in the UK, with Jonathan Ross leading the coverage.

Red carpet arrivals will begin at 10.15 UK time. 

Known for his distinctively deep voice, delighted fans have said they hope Matt will bring his peculiar pronunciations to the role.

They wrote: 'He is going to pronounce a word in some insane way. Can't wait.'

 'I really hope he gets a chance to say "New York Citaaaaaaay.'

'That’s just your regular human from Tucson, ArizOONNiaaa.' 

'Can’t wait to hear him pronounce Timothee Chalamet. It’s gonna have like 38 syllables.'

The hosting line-up this year includes the likes of Nicole Kidman, Channing Tatum, Rose Byrne, Jimmy Kimmel, Delroy Lindo, Ewan McGregor, Wagner Moura, and Sigourney Weaver.

The 2026 Academy Awards are typically considered the top honour for any film star, as the moment they accept the coveted honour becomes etched in movie history.

However, it seems that the so-called experts who choose the winners of the famous statue may be less equipped than once though, as one voter has confessed they haven't watched half of the films nominated for this year's ceremony.

The star-studded ceremony is set to take place this Sunday, with One Battle After Another, Hamnet and Sinners among the favourites to win big.

Typically the winners of each Oscar are chosen by members of The Academy, an organisation of over 8,000 film industry professionals, who individually choose which films and stars they believe should receive an award.

New guidelines were also introduced this year for members, where they had to attest that they have seen the films that they are voting on, either in a cinema, through the Academy's digital screening room, or through some other means.

However, one voter has anonymously admitted they 'didn't care' to watch the full list of films that feature on this year's Oscars shortlist, and said those that they did watch they found to be 'mediocre.'

This further fuels complaints from film fans that the Oscars have become out-of-touch, with accusations some voters simply 'coattail' by picking films that have already won big this awards season.

The awards have also faced claims the ceremony has become 'woke' due to a focus on smaller movies over box office hits.

In an email published by Deadline, the voter said: 'I thought you might be interested to hear a take from an Academy member about this year's rules.

'I haven't seen even half of the nominated films, nor do I care to, because my time is far too valuable to spend watching movies I know I'd never vote for (much less be able to sit through).

'I found most of the films I did see to be mediocre, and nothing that I nominated made the final cut. Therefore, since I don't want to lie, I decided I simply would not vote at all this year. Yes, I'd like to vote for K-Pop Demon Hunters, but not at the price of watching four other movies I know won't be as good.

'But really, the Oscars have become pretty irrelevant. Anora? CODA? Everything Everywhere All At Once? vs The Godfather, Lawrence of Arabia, Patton? Which three movies will people still be watching five years from now?

'It's all about the film, not the award. Rather than watch the Awards, I'll probably watch Singin' In The Rain or North By Northwest or The Searchers – REAL best pictures which weren't even nominated.'

Following last year's ceremony, the Academy announced a string of new guidelines for voters, including that they would have to attest to having seen all of the films under Oscars consideration.

The rules, which were first announced back in April, combined digital tracking through the Academy Screening Room with member-reported viewings of films that make up the shortlist.

Across all 24 competitive categories, voters were told that the online ballots could only be access if members themselves verified they'd seen all of the films nominated in a given category.

Another new rule regarding Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other digital tools states that 'the tools neither help nor harm the chances of achieving a nomination.'

It comes following controversy around last year's nominee The Brutalist, which used AI to enhance the Hungarian dialogue of stars Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones. Adrien went on to win his second Best Actor award for the performance.