James Franco is sitting down with David Letterman and talking about his poorly reviewed stint as Oscar host alongside Anne Hathaway.

In an interview set to air Friday on "Late Show with David Letterman," Franco tells fellow panned Oscar host Letterman, "I honestly played those lines as well as I could. ... It's complicated because, no, I never dreamed of being the best Oscar host ever. It was never on my list of things to do. It doesn't mean I didn't care, and it doesn't mean I didn't try hard."

Of what many called his "low energy" stage presence, Franco explains to Letterman, "I love her, but Anne Hathaway is so energetic, I think the Tazmanian Devil would look stoned standing next to Anne Hathaway."

Letterman (famous for his "Uma, Oprah" exchange when he hosted the 1995 Oscars) tells Franco, "Well, I can tell you what will happen. There will be, for you, I think a modicum of embarrassment, which you shouldn't feel. That will pass, you'll go into a period of numbness, and then you'll become, rightly so, defiant."