Host Kristen Bell wanted SAG Awards canceled after LA fires: She had a change of heart

After January's devastating wildfires ravaged Los Angeles, killing 29 people while destroying thousands of buildings and homes, "Nobody Wants This" actress Kristen Bell thought glamorous Hollywood awards shows should be canceled.

A longtime Angeleno, Bell was a consequential voice on the matter after being announced in December as host of the 31st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

"I was one of those people," Bell, 44, tells USA TODAY. "I thought they all should be canceled and the money should go to the fire victims."

Yet Bell had a change of heart, now thinking it's vital to have the SAG Awards, which will stream on Netflix (Sunday, 8 p.m. EST/ 5 PST). The star ? who lives in LA with husband Dax Shepard and went viral on social media leading collection drives for fire victims with daughters Lincoln, 11, and Delta, 10 ? explains why.

(Edited for length and clarity.)

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Question: What prompted you to change your mind about having the SAG Awards a month after the fires?

Answer: I realized these awards shows are a huge part of Los Angeles' economy, employing hundreds, if not thousands, of gig workers: drivers, hair and makeup artists, musicians. It's actually paramount we have them so these people can work. At first, it felt superfluous to have an awards show. Then I thought, I know so many people who lost homes in the fire. All they're begging for is a night of normalcy and funny laughs. I felt like we could give them both.

You were the first SAG Awards host ever in 2018. Has your approach to hosting changed this time because of the fires or political climate?

Not at all. I've put zero effort into changing my comedy. My style of comedy is not roasting or attacking. If I'm going to come at somebody, it's going to be me. I certainly will acknowledge the first responders to celebrate them and, at the minimum, give thanks for saving our city. (As for politics) Not on my watch. I don't know who that benefits.

Have you been surprised that more movie studios and production companies have not pledged to keep projects in Los Angeles after the devastation?

I'm an optimist, so I see it coming. The second I felt I had leverage in my career, years ago, I said I wouldn't take work outside of Los Angeles. I have a finite amount of time with my children in the house. I want to come home every night. And the trickle-down effect is that the crew members can go home to their families, and the bagel store next to the studio stays open because we're there every morning. Figuring out who we need to beg for tax incentives is my priority to create work here and keep people in Los Angeles.

Your hit rom-com with Adam Brody, "Nobody Wants This," is a love letter to Los Angeles. When do you start work on Season 2, and what can we expect?

We start the first week of March. We're scouting all over Los Angeles. Hopefully, it will be another love letter, showing the places not affected by the fires. I loved the Season 1 ending so much because it was a bit unwrapped. The expressed mandate from the writers' room for this season is, "Let's not make the show something crazy." People have enjoyed this grounded rom-com, and these people. Let's give them more of what they want.

How did you earn your SAG union card as a young actress growing up in Michigan?

It was a commercial for a Detroit neuroscience institute that helped people with brain injuries. I played a girl who had been in a roller skating accident and hit her head. Obviously, it was an outstanding performance because it got me my SAG card.

Explain your blink-and-you-miss-it cameo in that "A Man on the Inside" classroom scene for Ted Danson, your "The Good Place" co-star.

We wanted to re-create the shot from the opening of "The Good Place," where the camera comes over my back and head, and you see, "Everything is fine!" And I said, "What if I wore the sweater from 'The Good Place' final episode?" which I had kept from the set. It's a fun Easter egg.

Question for Anna: Why do fans have to wait until November 2027 for Disney to release "Frozen III"?

Tell me about it. It's not my choice. I want to get back in that recording booth l before I'm using a walker. But Disney took their sweet time from "Frozen" (2013) to writing "Frozen 2" (2019) because they didn't want it to just be "Episode 2." They wanted it to mean something. That's one thing I love about working on this project: the rigor with which the storyline is built. It's like nothing I've ever seen. I think that effort is why the movies have succeeded.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kristen Bell rethought hosting SAG Awards after LA wildfires