Stephen Colbert appeared on “The Late Show” Tuesday for the first time since CBS announced he would take over for host David Letterman when he retires in 2015.
Letterman told an out-of-character Colbert that he looked “right at home” on the show’s set.
“They could have easily hired another boob like me,” the late night host said. “But they didn’t, they hired a guy–“
“They hire a boob like me,” Colbert said. “Every boob is like a snowflake, Dave. We’re all unique in our own way.”
After getting the pleasantries out of the way, Colbert divulged that he’d actually been up for jobs with “The Late Show” twice before. He interviewed for an internship in the ’80s but turned it down because it was unpaid.
“The next job I’m taking here, it pays right?” he quipped. “Because I’ve already signed.”
Colbert also applied for a writer gig on the show in 1997 along with his writing partner, but by the time the duo got a callback they had already landed a Comedy Central show. One of his writing samples from that time was a top 10 list, “Top Ten Cocktails for Santa,” which Colbert brought along to show off his list-reading chops — he even came prepared with blue notecards.
And naturally, Colbert couldn’t leave the set without taking a selfie with Letterman. Who knows when they’d be sharing a set again?
#boobs pic.twitter.com/bPKXOII4Vc
— Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) April 23, 2014
The full episode is here. Watch a promotional clip of the interview below, courtesy of CBS:
Correction: This article’s headline has been updated to reflect that Colbert appeared on “The Late Show.”
Going to be a refreshing change to the show.
Billo is beating the hell out of his felafel this morning.