Conan O'Brien doesn't "want to let America down" at the Oscars

He told PEOPLE: "It's a celebration of an entire industry and people from every walk of life who give their blood, sweat and tears for showbusiness."

Conan has admitted to being inspired by previous Oscars hosts, including Johnny Carson and Bob Hope.

The TV star shared: "I thought about when I was a kid watching the Oscars, and I was very interested in watching Johnny Carson host and I think I saw Bob Hope early on. My gut reaction, which I usually go with, was, 'Yes, let's do this thing!'"

Conan has also reached out to Billy Crystal and Jimmy Kimmel, two former hosts, for some advice.

The comedian hailed Billy, 76 - who has hosted the Academy Awards nine times - as the "all-time great" Oscars host.

Conan explained: "I have a nice text exchange with Billy Crystal, who's obviously the all-time great.

"And last week I had dinner with Molly [McNearney, Jimmy's wife and a two-time ex ecutive producer] and Jimmy.

"They were terrific [and] have so much great advice ... It's like people that have driven the racetrack many times and they're telling me, 'When you get into the third turn, there's a huge pothole, so veer to the left.' It's invaluable stuff."

Despite this, Conan still expects hosting the ceremony to be a "challenge".

He said: "There's no such thing as getting to a point professionally where there are no nerves if you're working in comedy.

"I am very aware that it's an iconic show and can be tricky ... I like to meet a challenge."