According to The Hollywood Reporter, Eddie Murphy has been given the job of hosting the upcoming 84th Academy Awards.

Brett Ratner and Don Mischer, the producers of the Oscars, told The Hollywood Reporter that even though Murphy was being heavily considered, they were surprised with how quickly he agreed to host the show.

When asked by the magazine/site about how fast they approached Murphy with the job, Ratner said that as he and Mischer were going through their options, Ratner thought of Murphy because they are working on a film together. “…I just happened to be with Eddie because obviously I’m making a movie [“Tower Heist”] with him,” he said. “It was a very casual conversation…when I mentioned it to Eddie, he said, ‘Oh, my God, that would be a huge idea.'”

Ratner also said that for Murphy to agree to host the show exhibits the comedian’s true love for the Academy. ” He has such admiration and love for the Academy despite his incidents in the past,” he said. “He’s just a fan of movie and Hollywood and the Academy itself.”

Mischer said the choice of Murphy as host is surprising. “He’s never hosted before. It was kind of a little bit of an unexpected choice, which we think could work to our advantage in creating interest in the show.”

You can read the full Q and A here.