Jimmy Kimmel Reveals the Unexpected ‘Hardest’ Part of Hosting Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

Jimmy Kimmel discovered an unexpected challenge that comes with hosting Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

The comedian and late-night host, 58, revealed the surprisingly simple thing he finds most difficult about helming the long-running game show.

When The Hollywood Reporter asked Kimmel what viewers might not realize is the hardest part of hosting the show, he had a quick answer: “Pronunciation! Even the word pronunciation is hard to pronounce.”

Kimmel also revealed a few famous faces he’d like to see take a shot at the game. When asked which celebrities he has yet to land on the show, he told the outlet, “The Obamas would be a fun team. Also, Hall & Oates.”

Kimmel’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire gig, which began in April 2020, brought him back to his game show roots. Before Jimmy Kimmel Live! premiered in 2003, he co-hosted Comedy Central’s Win Ben Stein’s Money from 1997 to 2000.

Last year, Kimmel took home the 2025 Emmy for Outstanding Host for a Game Show for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. During his acceptance speech, he paid tribute to the late Regis Philbin, who served as the original host of the U.S. version of the series.

“Regis was the best at this,” Kimmel later told Gold Derby in the press room. “I don’t think this show would still be on the air if Regis hadn’t hosted it to start with.”

Kimmel recalled that Philbin initially seemed like an unexpected choice for the job before the series exploded into a cultural phenomenon.

“Regis was somebody who was very nice to me and who I liked a lot, and it is exciting to have this and to know that he has this same Emmy somewhere in his family’s collection as well,” Kimmel added.

Despite now having an Emmy to show for his Millionaire hosting skills, Kimmel has admitted that he isn’t always eager to put his own trivia knowledge to the test.

“Most of the game, I’m sitting there kind of twisting, hoping they don’t ask me to answer the questions I don’t know,” he previously told IndieWire, joking that contestants are generally better off turning to him for questions involving sports or pop culture.

Kimmel has long spoken about his affection for television and what the medium has meant to him throughout his life. Following his Emmy win last year, he told PEOPLE that television had been a constant since his childhood.

“TV is more important to me than anyone in my family. I love television,” he joked. “My wife gets angry because I put a television in every room in our house.”

He recalled the excitement of claiming his family’s old 12-inch black-and-white television after his parents upgraded to a color set and bringing it upstairs to his room. He later remembered watching Hill Street Blues and discussing the episodes with his parents, as well as discovering David Letterman through that television.

“It’s very special to me,” Kimmel said.