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OMG!Ryan Seacrest Reveals He was Almost an ‘American Idol’ Judge — Not Host!

Wait, what?!

In a new interview, Ryan Seacrest revealed he was originally asked to be a judge on American Idol when the show was first being developed in the early 2000s, but instead asked to serve as the long-running reality competition’s host!

ryan seacrest

Ryan on American Idol in May 2015.

“I said to [the producers], ‘Who’s the host?’ They said, ‘Well we’ve already got a host, but we could audition you to be the co-host,'” Ryan recalled in a newly released promotional video for Idol‘s upcoming 15th and final season.

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Of course, Ryan, 40, was ultimately cast as a co-host alongside TV personality Brian Dunkleman — who later left the show after the first season — while the judges’ panel was filled with Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.

Click through the gallery below to see all the past American Idol winners then and now!