ET spoke with the show's host about leading the charge for this year's MTV Movie & TV Awards, airing May 7.
It's clear that Drew Barrymore has taken to hosting like a duck takes to water; last month it was announced that the actress and daytime TV personality will host the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards. The gig seems like the perfect fit for the star taking daytime TV by storm with her insightfully intimate interviews and charming personality. And no one is happier about the job than Barrymore herself!
"I am so thrilled, I wonder if I oddly manifested this," the 48-year-old tells ET's Rachel Smith during a recent visit to the Drew Barrymore Show set. "I had been thinking about award shows and, you know, you used to kind of only see people when they would hit the carpet or come out on the stage and now, with the digital age, we are with everybody all the time."
As a self-proclaimed lover of all things movies, TV and comedy, Barrymore adds that she "loves celebrating everything about this industry" in an everyday way outside of work.
"I too want to go home at the end of the day and watch stuff. It's the job and the thing I've known since I was 11 months old and my whole life, but it's [also] how I engage in my personal life too, like if I can go home and watch Top Chef while eating take-out -- bliss," she explains.
Sharing her love for celebrating the industry by way of hosting the ceremony is a dream come true, especially since it's an event she can enjoy with her two daughters, Olive, 10, and Frankie, 9.
"I think that this is like the most accessible award show and I think, when it launched back in the day, it was also the one where you would see the host or other people put into scenes of movies and television shows -- it sort of broke down these walls and there was just a celebratory sort of tone over it," Barrymore says, noting that she doesn't see herself as the best choice for an occasion with more gravitas. "I like something that's more raucous and confetti-driven and this is something that I truly respect and live my life by and [enjoy] in my personal time."
The actress points out that a varied audience tunes into the MTV Movie & TV Awards, which has always been "where pop culture comes to party."
"I think you can be into TikTok, you can be a [TV] binger or you can be a movie lover. You can be any age," she declares. "Things that are an all-ages party and everyone's invited [are] definitely up my alley 'cause [I'm] like a kid, but I'm also 48. I'm all these different things, we are all different things, so let's celebrate all aspects."
When it comes to the actual show and what Barrymore plans to bring to the event, the host plays coy so she doesn't ruin the surprise. "We are literally finalizing presenters," she tells ET.
MTV revealed the star-studded list of presenters on Thursday, which features a mix of celebrities from the worlds of film, television and music.
Among the presenters are Ariana Madix, Katie Maloney, Scheana Shay and Lala Kent from Vanderpump Rules, Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback from Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Chelsea Lazkani and Chrishell Stause from Selling Sunset.
Other stars who will be presenting at the show include Halle Bailey and Jonah Hauer-King from the upcoming live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid, as well as several cast members from the hit show Yellowjackets, including Jasmin Savoy Brown and Sophie Nélisse. The music industry will be well-represented, with Busta Rhymes and Lil Dicky taking the stage to present as well.
"I want to put on a really dynamic show and I want it to have an arc, a beginning, middle and end," Barrymore teases. "I can tell you this, I definitely will playing different characters [from] the films that I've been in and I will definitely be inserted into other films and we will create a lot of really fun set pieces and scenarios. And, so far, the people I do know that are coming... are so awesome and totally in keeping with the all-ages party, the love of different genres, the love of different mediums. It's a really well-balanced show, I'm really excited about it."
Barrymore also shares that there's a collaboration with "a very amazing musician" in the works for what she calls an "unorthodox idea."
"I hope it goes well and if it doesn't, we tried," she says. "But if it does, it will really be exciting and fun. I just think there's a playground here and you can't walk in at the last minute and hope it all goes well. You gotta plan for it. And the more you plan, the more spontaneous you can be. And it is live -- I love when things go wrong, especially when you're all buttoned up. Bring it on!"
Although some may see the job as something to take lightly, Barrymore says that she sees the hosting opportunity as a genuine honor, reiterating her respect for the awards show that is able to "tap into a joy and fun that people really feel in life."
She concludes, "I want this show and the MTV Awards to be an honor and acknowledgment and a fun look into a world that we all decompress with or that we get educated by or we're inspired by. Film and TV [are] not just art and entertainment and enlightenment and education. It's a level of escape also that we all need after we've been out in the world all day. There's a comfort, there's a blanket, there's a gift in these stories."
Fans will get to see exactly what Barrymore has in store when the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards air May 7 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
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