Chris Rock Said ‘No’ To The ‘The Daily Show’

Chris Rock said “No” to hosting The Daily Show when presented with the opportunity to succeed Jon Stewart as the host of the politically driven Comedy Central staple.

Rock wasn’t interested in hosting The Daily Show beyond the next presidential election, so that took him out of the running as far as Comedy Central was concerned, as they were looking for a long term replacement for the soon to be retiring Jon Stewart, according to a report in CinemaBlend.

Chris Rock has extensive experience as both an actor and a comedian, and hosted his own comedy show The Chris Rock Show from 1997 to 2000 on HBO, which was full of topical commentary and comedy. Comedy Central also looked at comedian Amy Poehler to fill the slot, but she quickly declined the offer.

“They were pretty much expecting her to say no, and it was the quickest ‘no’ in history,”said a source that was in-the-know, in an interview with The New York Times.

The Daily Show was originally hosted by former ESPN anchorman Craig Kilborn. Current host John Stewart took over the helm back in 1999. In February, Stewart announced that he would end his successful run hosting The Daily Show, by retiring and that he will take on other types of ventures in the future.

“It’s not like I though the show wasn’t working anymore, or that I didn’t know how to do it,” according to a report on ABC News. “It was more, ‘Yup, it’s working. But I’m not getting the same satisfaction.'”

Stewart produced the 2014 movie Rosewater, starring Gael Garcia Bernal, based on the book Then They Came for Me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hWKTako_6A

Trevor Noah was ultimately selected by Comedy Central as Stewart’s successor and will take over hosting after Stewart’s final show August 6.

[Photo courtesy of Frank Micelotta/Getty Images]