Amy Schumer Turned Down The Chance To Replace Jon Stewart On ‘The Daily Show’

Amy Schumer is a successful comedian, but as yet not a household name. One might think she’d jump at the chance to host The Daily Show, which has become a staple of the “comedic news” genre and made Jon Stewart a star. But Schumer told the Daily Beast that despite being offered the job, she couldn’t handle the stability that came with it.

Nonetheless, she considered it, specifically because she was flattered by the faith Comedy Central placed in her.

“I was so honored to be asked and considered. With Comedy Central, I project so much ‘You’re my parents!’ on the network and the people that run it, so them saying, ‘We believe in you and trust that you can do this,’ I thought, ‘Oh my god, thank you!'”

“And then I thought, ‘Well, I could give everyone I love a job and we could all be together for five years. But picturing being in a building and knowing what I was going to do for five years—I love not knowing. And I’ve never done anything safe or to make money for that reason. So, you know, I said, ‘I can’t start now.'”

Trevor Noah is taking over from Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. Amy Poehler, who received laughs and praise for her role as Weekend Update anchor on Saturday Night Live opposite Tina Fey and Seth Meyers, also quickly declined the Daily Show job. Chris Rock might have wanted the gig, but only for a year, according to a New York Times Magazine article.

Schumer already has her own show on Comedy Central, Inside Amy Schumer, and some of her funniest skits have gone viral. Earlier this year she taped a scene with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Fey, and Patricia Arquette that featured the women having a meal in the woods, toasting Louis-Dreyfus’ last day as a “desirable” woman in the entertainment industry.

Schumer makes her big screen debut next month in Trainwreck, a movie she also wrote. Judd Apatow, who was behind such films as The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, directs. Bill Hader is Schumer’s co-star. Variety praised the role Schumer wrote for herself, saying it shows off her comedic skills and “subvert[s] the ossified codes that dictate how women in Hollywood romantic comedies are supposed to behave.”

Jon Stewart will wind-up his tenure on The Daily Show August 6th. Trainwreck is set for July 2015 release.

[Photo by Jemal Countess / Getty Images Entertainment]