Los Angeles, Feb 7 (IANS): Actor Dwayne Johnson says he was approached to host the Oscars this year, but his shooting schedule of "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" interfered with the plan.

In response to a fan on Twitter, the actor explained that he was the Academy's first choice to host the show this year, but due to filming commitments for his upcoming "Jumanji" sequel, he was unable to follow through with the gig, reports variety.com.

"Ah mahalo dude, I was their first choice to host this year, and my goal was to make it the most fun and entertaining Oscars ever. We all tried hard, but couldn't make it work since I'm shooting ‘Jumanji'. Academy and I were super bummed but maybe one day down the road," he wrote.

The Oscars will presumably rely more heavily on presenters this year as the show is without a host for the first time in 30 years. This comes after the Academy's pick - Kevin Hart - became embroiled in a controversy due to past homophobic tweets.

The 91st Academy Awards will be held on February 24 here and will air in India on Star Movies.