James Corden Says He’s Frightened by Advice From Other Late Night Hosts
James Corden is taking over the Late Late Show on CBS on Monday at 12:35am et. As he enters the world of American late night comedy television, other hosts are reaching out with advice. Corden told the New York Daily News that he’s heard from David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers. He says they all have the same advice for him. Corden said, “They keep telling me to just be myself — and I find that utterly frightening.” According to Corden, Jimmy Kimmel told him not to be too hard on himself if the show doesn’t gel right away. Corden said Kimmel told him, “Look, my first two years (as a late-night host) were awful, so don’t judge it too harshly — just concentrate on having fun.”
Also if you listen to James Corden, there’s still work to be done as he prepares for the premiere of the new Late Late Show. “I’m not sure about a monologue. I just don’t know. We’ve been trying out all different sorts of openings. Either way, I don’t want it to be too long.” The one thing that is figured out is how he’s going to handle his guests. They will all appear at the same time in the tradition of “The Graham Norton Show” in Great Britain. Corden added, “I have no idea if I’m even capable of doing this, but I would regret not giving it a try.”
As for his going up against other late night talk shows, he doesn’t feel any of them are the real opposition. He’s up against tired viewers. He said, “Our competition is people falling asleep.”
The Late Late Show with James Corden premieres Monday night, March 23rd at 12:35am et on CBS with his first guests Tom Hanks and Mila Kunis.
