Anthony Anderson Won't 'Play Safe' When He Hosts This Year's Emmys

"I said yes to hosting the Emmys, maybe, 15 years ago; they're just now getting around to asking me to host," Anthony joked while speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, reports aceshowbiz.com.

"You know what's crazy? I think my team may have given them a resounding yes before they even brought the offer to me."

He continued: "They contacted my team, like, 'Do you think Anthony would be interested in hosting --' 'Yes!' '… the Emmys?' 'Yes!' 'Do you guys need to talk to him first?' 'No, he's interested. He's going to do it. We'll call him later.' I think that's how that conversation went."

During the interview, Anthony also talked about Normal Lear and how he's planned to honour the late screenwriter/producer.

"I have a voicemail on my phone from Norman celebrating my birthday from two years ago, and I could never find myself erasing that message, just because it was Norman Lear, one of my idols, who I patterned characters in our television show ('Black-ish') after, who I got the chance to know intimately, who I got the chance to work with," he said.

"So yeah, we will be celebrating Norman heavily throughout that night, not just because of what Norman Lear meant to me personally, but because of what he meant to all of us culturally. But it won't only be him, it will be all the change-makers along the way," he added.

When it comes to his jokes, Anthony hinted that he won't play safe for the big day.

"I've been known to be a habitual line-crosser. I didn't get this far in my career and achieve what I've achieved by playing it safe," he explained, before teasing, "We're going to push the envelope and have fun, but we're going to do it in a very respectful way. You'll have to tune in to see."

In the interview, Anthony added that he won't stop at hosting Emmy.

"I would love to host the Oscars as well. These are little milestones in my career that I set long before I had a career," he shared.

"One day I'm going to be famous enough. One day I'm going to be talented enough. One day I'm going to host these shows along with being nominated. And so that's why I said yes, and that's why I look forward to it."

The 75th Primetime Emmy Awards is scheduled to be broadcast on January 15.