In a fairly wide-ranging interview with the always-thorough Onion A.V. Club, Stephen Colbert talks about doing a character he calls a "well-intentioned, poorly informed, high-status idiot" on a daily basis on The Colbert Report. Among the topics covered in the interview: his college years, his comedic influences, his years working with Second City, where he understudied Steve Carell, his comparison of the Craig Kilborn and Jon Stewart versions of The Daily Show, and how playing Dungeons & Dragons influenced his acting ability.(The only thing that bugs me a little is that the article says that the Report is Colbert's third collaboration with Amy Sedaris, after Exit 57 and Strangers With Candy. One little problem: Amy is nowhere to be found in the IMDb listing for the Report. Doesn't seem like her type of humor, anyway.)
My favorite detail in the interview is how Colbert dives into how his set was designed: "[I]f you look at the design, it all does, it all points at my head. And even radial lines on the floor, and on my podium, and watermarks in the images behind me, and all the vertices, are right behind my head. So there's a sort of sun-god burst quality about the set around me. And I love that. That's status."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-30-2006 @ 1:43PM
Sally Blakemore said...
We watched with mouths hanging open at the brilliance in the Press Club
presentation! A lion in their midst! What could they have been thinking to let this brilliant man in the door, to talk IN THEIR FACES!
Thank you Stephen Colbert!
This is the revolution, under the wire, and THEY don't even suspect.
Thank you. We are declaring MAY 1 the TRUE Revolutionary STEPHEN COLBERT DAY!
VIVA REVOLUTION
VIVA COLBERT
VIVA laying down the truth so even THEY can't weasle out of it.
CONGRATULATIONS,
Sally Blakemore
If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to
worry about answers.
Thomas Pynchon
owner and creative director
Arty Projects Studio, Ltd.
a paper engineering studio
e-mail: artyprojects@cybermesa.com
sallyb@mothering.com
Google: Sally Blakemore for a list of books
Tel: 505-473-3008 • Fax: 505-438-9372
Mothering magazine 505-984-6295
Arty Projects Studio, Ltd.
3012 Siringo Rondo South
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507
"Fear always springs from ignorance."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Reply
5-01-2006 @ 11:13PM
catt young said...
How can I email Stephen Colbert I am an old friend and I like to send him a email but I don't want it to get in the wrong hands
Reply
5-01-2006 @ 11:13PM
catt young said...
How can I email Stephen Colbert I am an old friend and I like to send him a email but I don't want it to get in the wrong hands
Reply
8-16-2006 @ 12:38AM
Kara Place said...
How can I email Stephen Cobert? I am not a personal friend. Don't even know him. Just a Mensa member who thinks he is brilliant and would love to talk to him. Can't find an email address on Comedy Central.Not a stalker, just a fan that "gets" everything he says. I know this doesn't mean much...I'm sure all the girls tell him this, but I'm "fer reeaal, biiaatch!"
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1-25-2006 @ 7:08PM
Akbar Fazil said...
Once again, IMDB (while a fine resource) is not the end all be all source for information in films and tv. Most information supplied to the site is submitted by regular joes like you or me.
Reply
1-25-2006 @ 9:54PM
adam wong said...
They also collaborated, with Paul Dinello, on the fantastically weird book Wigfield.
Reply
1-28-2006 @ 9:45AM
richard luka said...
Stephen Colbert is at his absolute best during the interview segment. He manages to keep a straight face while going on a stream-of-consciousness rant against his guest, with the whole premise being that he alone is the sole preserver of our treasured national values. But what adds a delicious layer to all this, is his character believes that HE is the national treasure.
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1-28-2006 @ 12:04PM
Valerie said...
And the purpose of this article is...? I learned nothing from it, enjoyed nothing about it, and can't see anything it it remotely informative...
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1-28-2006 @ 12:34PM
Mary said...
If nothing else, I enjoy saying "Colber(t) Repor(t)". It's fun. I would like to know how he keeps a straight face all the time.
Reply
1-28-2006 @ 12:59PM
Bekah said...
Stephen Colbert is hilarious. I give the guests he has on his show a lot of credit. They have no idea what they are in for. I don't even think Stephen Colbert knows what they are in for until they are up there, face to face. I actually feel nervous for them.
Reply
2-01-2006 @ 12:22PM
ErricZ said...
Well, Val, it pointed ME to a great interview with Stephen Colbert ... not sure why you gleaned absolutely NOTHING from the article ... maybe you should write your own articles for the site?
Reply