Taking 'Late Late Show' gig won't slow James Corden down creatively

If you haven’t yet heard of James Corden, you will get to know him very soon.

The multi-talented U.K. star has made quite a name for himself over the last decade. The new host of The Late Late Show co-created the British series Gavin & Stacey, for which he won a BAFTA. He also won a Tony for his Broadway performance in One Man, Two Guvnors. He also co-hosted the Sky 1 comedy panel show A League of Their Own. He was on Doctor Who and in Into the Woods. The list goes on and on. Suffice it to say, he’s been quite busy, so some reporters at the Television Critics Associations winter TV previews questioned why Corden would seemingly put on the brakes by sitting behind a desk on late-night.

“There’s nothing more creative I don’t think I’ll ever do in my career than try to make an hour of television every day,” Corden responded. “In terms of creativity, I couldn’t feel less like I’m putting the brakes on and more like I’m putting my foot on the gas really. I just feel like this an opportunity for me. There’s no rhyme or reason why I should be given the opportunity to host a late-night talk show, talk to America every night and hopefully try to make them smile before, or more likely whilst, they fall asleep.”

In fact, he explains that doing late-night will take him away from the monotony of shooting movies. “What I’d really love in a day is a day with a point and a focus,” says Corden, who plans to respect the traditional format of late-night when he takes over for Craig Ferguson. But since he’s not necessarily a stand-up comedian, the monologue may be done with a twist. “It’s the best thing about this show. We’re going to wake up in the morning and so often say, ‘What are we going to do tonight?’ and that will become a scramble and a race to try to do something we think is funny. We do it, it’s gone and there’s another one tomorrow.”

Corden will debut as the host of The Late Late Show on Monday, March 9.