CRACKING THE PERFECT JOKE: NIKKI GLASER’S GOLDEN GLOBES TIGHTROPE

As the Golden Globes draw near, host Nikki Glaser is polishing her sharpest weapon—humour—while chasing one elusive target

With the ceremony just days away, Nikki Glaser admits there is one name still testing her comedic instincts: Julia Roberts.

“She’s been the toughest nut to crack,” Glaser said Tuesday with a determined laugh. “But I’m going to crack it.”

After earning widespread acclaim for her fearless yet measured monologue last year, Glaser was swiftly invited back to host the Golden Globes. Her approach—razor-sharp without being cruel—struck the right balance, and expectations are high once again.

This year’s monologue, she says, will remain a “shape-shifting monster” until the CBS telecast begins at the Beverly Hilton. Ideally, it will include a line for Roberts, nominated for Best Actress (Drama) for After the Hunt, seated front and centre with her trademark star power.

“I just want to do the perfect joke but it’s like people do not have a sense of humour about Julia Roberts,” Glaser said in an interview with The Associated Press. “She’ll be fine — other people are not fine on her behalf. Like the most innocent joke about her that I made a couple times trying it out, they booed, they were like jeering.”

Elsewhere, Glaser feels on surer ground—especially with the men dominating this year’s crowded Best Actor categories. She is ready for another round with Timothée Chalamet, nominated again after last year’s Bob Dylan turn and this year for Marty Supreme. “Timothée, he’s great. He knows how to handle it,” she said, recalling last year’s zinger: “You have the most gorgeous eyelashes — on your upper lip.”

She is equally eager to spar, playfully, with George Clooney, nominated for Jay Kelly. “George Clooney’s going to be exciting to just have any kind of interaction with. I think he’s such a good sport,” she said. “He’s down for it.”

There is enthusiasm too for material aimed at Sinners nominee Michael B. Jordan, and for awards-season fixture Leonardo DiCaprio, representing One Battle After Another. “Leo? Leo, yeah, Leo. We’re going to hit Leo,” Glaser said. “The icebergs are coming. Watch out.”

While she recently spoke to agencies dressed in a gown and fur coat on a mock New York street at a CBS studio lot, the real work has been unfolding nightly in Southern California comedy clubs.

“I’ve been running the jokes constantly,” she said. “I live and die by those crowds. They really tell me what to keep and what not to. Things that I think will kill will just be nothing and things that I think are just a throwaway are like the best joke.”

Not every idea survives. One discarded attempt still makes her laugh. “I was going to make a joke about Pluribus where I said like, ‘Have you seen it? Pluribly not,’” she said. “But we could not find a place for ‘pluribly not’ and so that one is in the graveyard. Probably rightfully so.”

Because the monologue is a directed, roast-style exchange with the stars in the room, comedy club audiences must temporarily play celebrity stand-ins. “I’ll ask them, ‘Will you play Julia Roberts for me?’” she said. “It’s strange, but I kind of just set it up. Like I’m hosting the Golden Globes. They’re usually very excited about that.”

Like every awards-show host, Glaser remains wary of current events upending even the most carefully honed script. “You can’t even anticipate things a week away as being relevant enough,” she said. “You’d be surprised that half the room had no clue why I was saying Venezuela. People aren’t getting the news like we all are.”

Last year’s equivalent of the Julia Roberts dilemma was Wicked, where she laboured to find a line that balanced affection with edge. When it finally clicked, she knew. “It ended up being perfect. I loved it,” she said, repeating the joke. “‘My boyfriend loved it, my boyfriend’s boyfriend loved it.’ Perfect Wicked joke. Wasn’t too mean, just celebrated the gayness.”

This year, the pressure is on once more—but if persistence counts for anything, Glaser may yet crack her hardest nut.