Pick him, pick him! Christian Slater revealed during a Thursday, October 6, appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that he loves the idea of taking a permanent seat next to Kelly Ripa on Live with Kelly after her cohost Michael Strahan exited the show in May.
“I love it. I live about, you know, six blocks away from [the Live with Kelly studio],” the Mr. Robot star, 47, said, as seen in the clip above. “It’s one of the greatest jobs ever, so yeah, Kelly, I’m available! Let’s do it!”
Aside from convenience, Slater told Ellen DeGeneres that he wishes he could have the gig because he is so fond of Ripa, 46. “I love her,” he raved of his close pal. “She’s amazing.”
Asked if he would be able to juggle his role on Mr. Robot along with his potential duties as the next Strahan, Slater assured the 58-year-old talk show host that he could “absolutely handle both jobs.”
Slater — who has guest-hosted Live! multiple times — said that while he hasn’t been approached to appear on the daytime program full-time, he is “putting [his] hat in the ring, why not?”
As Us Weekly exclusively reported back in April, Ripa’s good friend Anderson Cooper was among her top picks to replace Strahan, 44. However, he is unable to take the job.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cooper, 49, can’t join Live! because he signed a new deal to remain at CNN as the host of the network’s primetime series Anderson Cooper 360.
“Look, I’m very happy at CNN,” he said during an April 28 appearance on Watch What Happens Live. “It would be a dream to work with Kelly, but nobody’s offering anything, so … “
As previously reported, Ripa felt hurt and “blindsided” by Strahan’s departure from Live! to join Good Morning America this September, which was announced — without producers giving her much of a heads-up — back in April. The former NFL player ended his contract early as a result of the behind-the-scenes drama, leaving four months ahead of schedule on May 13.
Watch the video above.
