James Corden sees The Late Late Show as a chance to spread joy -- a contrast to his "d*ckead" past

The New Yorker

In a New Yorker profile of Corden, Michael Schulman writes that the CBS late-night host "sees his show as a delivery system for happiness. Unlike his more nihilistic contemporaries in British comedy—Ricky Gervais, Steve Coogan, Armando Iannucci—he believes that entertainers have a responsibility to combat cynicism and spread joy." Schulman adds that Corden cast himself "as a happy-go-lucky showman who can liven up any party," and that "his bouncy enthusiasm is a trait that Brits tend to think of as American ." Corden's show is also a contrast to the very political The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “Nowhere else in television would you be, like, ‘From eight till nine we’re going to have a hospital drama, and then from nine till ten we’re going to have another hospital drama with the same diseases,” Corden says of the difference between the two CBS late-night shows. But Corden wasn't always seen as a good guy. After the success of Gavin & Stacey in the late 2000s, Corden became full of himself. His mom told him he looked like a "prat." Corden clashed with Patrick Stewart at an awards show. And he had a string of misfires with his Gavin & Stacey co-star Mathew Horne, including the 2009 BBC3 sketch comedy show Horne & Corden and the 2009 film Lesbian Vampire Killers. (The pair also co-hosted Big Brother UK talk show Big Mouth around the same time.) Corden was able to get his career back on track earlier this decade with the play One Man, Two Guvnors, which went to Broadway and earned him a Tony Award. The play brought him to the attention of then-CBS boss Les Moonves, who offered him The Late Late Show gig. “It’s weird, innit?” Corden says of his success, while looking at a Garry Shandling quote. “That’s why the jury’s out for me on how healthy it is to do these shows for that long. I’m not sure it’s healthy to have a standing ovation every day.” ALSO: Corden and his writers spent four days crafting his speech calling out Bill Maher's fat-shaming.