James Corden on getting in a fighter jet with Tom Cruise
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
James Corden turns 44 today with an impressive resume in both the UK and Hollywood entertainment industries. However, despite his international fame the Late Late Show host revealed there are very few celebrities he would personally ask to appear on the show.
Corden spoke to fellow entertainment industry veteran David Tennant on the David Tennant Does a Podcast With…, and provided a candid look at the behind-the-scenes working of his nightly show.
Speaking about the array of celebrities that grace his show each night, Corden admitted: “I very rarely make asks. I’m just too, my ego is too fragile to deal with the silence. I couldn’t.”
However, he highlighted there are a select few people in Hollywood who he would be able to call up personally, exemplifying Emily Blunt.
Corden praised her as “a team-player”, “an incredible actress” and “one of the best people you could ever meet”.
He recalled spending four months with Blunt on a film set, explaining their connection forged in that time meant: “I do feel like I can go ‘Em, is there any way you can…’.”
1658599
During the podcast Corden also recalled his first few months in the role as host of the Late Late Show, attempting to revitalise it for a younger audience and receiving brutal rejections.
The Late Late Show has been running since 1995, with Corden becoming the fourth host in 2015.
One of the first memorable changes Corden’s reign made was that of Carpool Karaoke.
The simple sketch idea of celebrities singing in the car whilst Corden drives around Los Angeles became a sensation, with some of the top videos raking in hundreds of millions of views on YouTube.
Corden recalled he had “never been more sure of an idea ever”, but at the time of its conception no one else seemed remotely convinced.
The actor shared: “What I didn’t know is that we would ask every single recording artist on the planet and they would all say no.
“It was so demoralising how many people said no, because I was like ‘this is a really good idea, how is no one on board with this?’.”
Mariah Carey would become the first celebrity to join Corden in the car, but the host explained she ended up joining almost by accident.
He explained Carey’s manager had come to the Late Late Show’s studio to discuss a band she wanted Corden’s team to book.
Corden played her a tester clip of what Carpool Karaoke was intended to be like and the next day she called him noting Carey was available that Sunday.
Barely a year after the first Carpool Karaoke, Corden found himself driving on the lawn of the White House, with former First Lady Michelle Obama and acclaimed rapper Missy Elliott.
The host added that he doesn’t get star struck by celebrities, but rather finds himself “very much in awe of situations” like that.
He candidly shared: “I don’t take a second of it for granted.
“I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve such memories.”
Now, seven years after his first appearance as host, Corden revealed that the show’s growing popularity doesn’t guarantee celebrity appearances.
He said: “We don’t get as many ‘no’s, but we do get quite a few of ‘not this time’s.”
Corden’s current list of titles includes comedian, actor, singer, writer, producer and television host, but he heartwarmingly remembered his first ever “performance” at the age of four.
He said: “The first time I was on a stage in front of people was my younger sister’s christening at the Salvation Army in High Wycombe.
“I remember looking into the congregation of people, it felt like it was 2,000 but it was probably 18, the vicar got a chair because I couldn’t see so he stood me on this chair and people kind of chuckled at that.”
Spurred by this reaction, young Corden continued with some comedic shenanigans before being returned to his seat in the congregation alongside his parents.
It wasn’t on stage that he realised his love for performing, but simply the revelation that being in the audience was “boring by comparison” which prompted him into entertainment.
Source: Read Full Article
