Roy Wood Jr. Says He's 'Ready' If Comedy Central Taps Him to Host 'The Daily Show'

"My job as an entertainer — it's like athletics — my job is to be ready," Wood told PEOPLE ahead of Saturday's White House Correspondents' Dinner

Comedian Roy Wood Jr., a correspondent on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, told PEOPLE that he's "ready" if the cable network wants him to serve as the show's new host.

After the success of his White House Correspondents' Dinner roast over the weekend, the 44-year-old comic — who has been among the satirical new show's guest hosts in the months since Trevor Noah's departure last December — mused on whether it might bolster the case for him as The Daily Show's permanent host.

"I had a lot of fun guest-hosting. It's been fun watching my fellow correspondents guest host as well. I don't know how Comedy Central is going to play that but at the end of the day, my job as an entertainer — it's like athletics — my job is to be ready," Wood told PEOPLE ahead of Saturday's event.

"So if Comedy Central makes the call, I'm ready. If they don't, then hopefully somebody else makes the call and I'm ready," he added. "So at the end of the day, this is just about being as sharp as possible and as funny as possible, and the rest of it is out of my control."

Related:Roy Wood Jr. Jokes About Donald Trump's Scandals During the 2023 White House Correspondents' Dinner

On the red carpet at the dinner, Wood was asked if he sees himself doing his own talk show.

"It would be fun at some point to host my own type of talk show. You know, we could delve into politics and stuff that's happening in the world. I don't think I would want to live solely in politics," he said. "John Oliver has a great model. Jon Stewart's model, it's pretty good as well. So I just think it's about when you look at the political satire landscape, finding the thing that's most unique to you that you want."

Related:Roy Wood Jr. Takes Aim at Tucker Carlson, Don Lemon at 2023 White House Correspondents' Dinner

Wood also said he's "praying that the writer strike doesn't happen." If it does, he says, "we'll stand with the writers and then when the time is right, we'll get back to cooking with guest hosts."

"The ratings have been up with guest hosts," he said. "I don't know when they're going to decide on a host, but I hope they know I'm here and ready."

When asked about Noah, 39, Wood acknowledged: "I do miss working with Trevor."

In signature fashion, he quipped, "I didn't work as hard because he had to do all the work. Now he's gone and I've got to do more work. That's no fun. Who wants to work in America?"

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