Colbert Proves He's Funny Out of Character On 'Late Show'

By
CBS

In less than a year, The Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert will be the new host of Late Show, replacing David Letterman. On Tuesday, he sat down in the guest's chair to let viewers know what to expect. 

Colbert, who plays a farcical right-wing conservative republican character on his Comedy Central show, has already said he won't bring his satirical character to the Late Show. His appearance on Tuesday gave him the opportunity to introduce America to the real him, and he embraced that chance with enthusiasm.


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Trading in his crisp black suit for a warm grey one, and his sharp rimless glasses for quirkier tortoise specs, Colbert presented his friendlier self, and proved that his wit is just as cutting when he's just being Colbert.

He talked about his frequent "brushes with greatness," where he almost worked for Late Show over the years, including being offered an internship, and turning it down because it didn't pay. He also joked that he submitted writing samples in a failed attempt to become a Late Show staff writer a year later.


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Perhaps in his most revealing moment, Colbert, 49, opened up to Letterman, 67, about the real reason he does comedy, saying, "I don't have the constitution for alcoholism so I have to tell jokes all the time or I go insane."

It's impossible to tell if America will be able to widely accept Colbert as himself, after nearly a decade of performing as his popular Colbert Report character, but he went a long way towards proving he doesn't need to be fake to be funny.

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