Happy holidays and welcome to Smart Lists. That was really nice. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, guys. So the gang said that we need to do some new intros, John. So do you want to take it away? We need a really good, solid intro. Gomi. Yes, go. OK, you got it. Hey, everybody, this is smart. Let's you're listening to Smart List, the podcast that everybody loves.

And it's it's with Jason Bateman, me, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett. And what happens is we bring on a guest that the other two don't know about and it's a surprise. So I'm sorry, are you in a race? Because I've never heard it so quickly. All right. It's all new, smaller, sars-cov-2. Smart, smart, let's just presented by AutoZone, America's number one battery destination. Make a donation to St. Jude next time you visit AutoZone as part of the St.

Jude thanks and giving campaign going on all November and December.

So when you get recalled, what you do is your kids, like my kids rolled up on me in the car the other day. They were in Amy's car. Well, just Archie and his buddies and they were they come up, they're playing. They're like, put the window down. There were nurses in the current, put it down. They're playing like some cool hip hop music. And then all of a sudden now we're going to give you call.

That's when you recruit somebody, you trick them. And it's a whole big deal with the kids. So you send people a link for like, hey, check out this cool video. And the videos got like some cool thing. And all of a sudden it just goes and it goes right into the rehearsal video.

Five dollar footlong. Yeah, that's Rick Roll people.

And he's their guy. Sometimes you just need to turn it off and turn it on again. I think trying to tell him. Well, that four year hackey Fonzi to life lesson.

Yeah. Mm hmm. And we are rolling.

Jason is and real quick before surprise guest. Don't say a word, but snap for us, please.

Bingo, guys, have fun.

I think it was a double snap to I think they snap the salt hands and that that tells me something tells me that they are cooperative, they are happy to be here. And oh yes, they have strong hands, strong snap. They've got rhythm. They're ready to go.

Guys, not only is it a special day because we have a great guest, an amazing guest, but it's a special day because of a text I sent both of you last night in the wee hours of the night as I was on episode two of Arrested Development.

God, that is right. You did send a nice clip last night. It got me all excited to watch the show.

You guys, what do you think of the show? It is fucking hilarious. Scotty and I are laughing out loud. It is unreal.

It's one of the funniest shows I've ever seen. Isn't and I'm not just saying I swear to God, I'm not sure but isn't Will and I'm not doing this to bait any sort of compliment for me either. I just truly as a friend and as a fan, I just think Wil could have been so much better on.

Yeah, I don't disagree. I don't disagree. Assessment. No, he is ridiculous. Yeah, I think so.

When you were trying to throw that letter in the ocean with those terrible flimsy triple pleated trousers, Tommy Bahama, all Tommy Bahama, Joe Words, Tommy Bahama.

Anyways, I can't wait to sing my father. Yeah, well, I did it for two reasons. One, because I've always wanted to see it.

And two, to get you guys off my fucking back. We won't be off your back till you finish. We're going to come over. We're going to come over and watch with you.

We'll have a little watch party. Great. And then we'll I can't wait to watch you shine next year.

TV going Arrested Development, guys, today's guest is this is a fella this is a fella that not only has conquered Broadway, but he's crushed it. And film, television and now is a brilliant late night host. I love this man because he's good, he's kind. And, boy, is he talented. He's literally in every movie that's come out since 2010. British name is James Corden.

James Corden, I you should have said yes. Then I would have guessed. Sorry. There he is. Look at him. Go or get him. Good.

How are you? This is thrilling. I'm so happy to see all of you. Yeah. This is.

My God, we're happy to have you on the on the program, James. Really cool. I will say some of my biggest laughs in the last couple of years have been in your company.

Well, I was thinking the exact same thing about you. I really was. I was no, I mean, obviously, Sean, but I was so I've been listening to the podcast. I think it's pretty. It's really, really funny. I really, really, really enjoy. It's Jason Bateman going, oh, did he just leave?

Sometimes he does that. No. So he'll be back in two seconds.

You know why? I think Jason Bateman's just clicked out. I think there's a big beefy.

Hello. OK, I'm coming back here. Oh, he's coming back here I come. Yeah, I lost I lost connection for a second. Are we still recording and we still in the show. Yeah. You stole the show. That was fun. I had a little detour. Sorry, James.

You were saying. You were saying. Well, I was saying that I wasn't surprised, Jason, that you clicked down and left the show just angry. I'm very fickle.

You're the only person here on this who's never been on my show. I started to wonder if there's something darker going on. Well, now.

Well, let's talk about that. Why? Why is that? Have I not been invited? Allowed.

You've been invited about it. Really? Oh, yeah. No, I'm typically I'm joking.

I'm idea what you say. You're joking. But why do you keep winking at me? I don't know.

I don't know what the wings.

I sat behind you at the Emmys. We had a lovely chat. I'm a huge fan. I love. Am I with you, I mean, I thought after that I thought, oh, he's bound to come on and then I watch like on Kobad Tonight and then and then I'd say, well, he's gone to New York and they go, Yeah, no, he's a Kimochi.

Well, first of all, Jim, he's one of our closest friends. But aside from that, there are no, no, no, but but but this is something I think the listener would be interested in this, because I find this kind of interesting. I know you're going to say this, and I would love for you to give me the full education on it now and our listener. OK, there is a protocol or an order in which one must go through.

When you do talk shows like one can't follow this, or if you do this one, you need to wait a certain amount of time. If we do that, if you're on the East Coast, you must. Isn't there a bit of and I defer all this to my publicist, who, of course. So I don't mean to hide behind them, but I do know that I love you. I love your show. I have nothing against doing that.

But I'll bet you the reason I haven't is because I probably have just done one that you guys don't follow or they just hesam the timing.

Yeah, that. Yeah. What is the politics of all that.

Well I'll take the politics for our show, which is we're more than happy to follow everyone really. So we will just. Yeah. Because I don't really prescribe to the notion of like just even network television, you know what I mean. So it makes no sense to me, the whole. But there's a huge amount of politics that I have next to no interest in ever being involved in so many ways. Yeah. I don't really enjoy even competition.

So I was just winding you up.

I would suggest, James, next time you guys exchanged numbers and you call or text Jason, now he doesn't get great reception in the shadow of his publicist.

But if you're going to say he doesn't get great reception in Los Angeles. No. Of all we're rolling.

Well, I'm will get ready because I'm coming. I'm not singing. I'm not singing. Just don't let me tell you something I've done.

I know Sean's on it, too. And I've done I've done Jimmy show a number of times over the last few years, OK? And we I did a musical number. I can't sing. I did a musical number with Marty Short. Well, they did the singing James and Marty did. And I just fucked around. But we've done we did a police detective like a stupid bit. And then we did we went to space camp. Yes.

Which was such a blast down in Alabama and all your writers and you are great on a second come upon race administration. It is such a blast. I don't need to be talked into this. I remember us talking at the after party, whatever of into the woods. Yes. And I was God damn it, I fell in love with you on that movie. So that was talent on this.

And that movie is one of my favorite movies of all time. Same. I love that. I love that movie.

So sweet and vividly. And I just presumed you would have forgotten about that because. No, you have to do it for me. God, no. When you came over in that chat with me when you left, I immediately called my wife. It was like, you're not going to believe who I just spoke to. Jason Bateman really enjoyed the show.

And I was like freaking out drama on premise.

I want to say that you weren't yet doing your show then.

No, Rightmove hadn't moved to Los Angeles then. Right. I remember them when you were on that show. When you started on the show, I was like, oh, now I get a I get a chance to have another conversation. Go hang out with them on your show. I swear to God, on my life, I've always wanted to do that. And he said he loves comedies and did.

How did I did out of the woods come out yet or.

No, I'm still working on it sometimes working.

You know, we were saying extremely are not us. It doesn't matter what we were saying. But Paul McCartney had incredibly nice things to say about you, Barry.

He went out of his way. Jason's right to talk about how talented you are. Yeah. So what's going on in there? Yeah. What is going on?

What about how you guys clearly have a history with is it England centric? When did you guys first start accruing blackmail on one another?

Well, oddly, this actually goes back to a sketch. I've written a sitcom in Britain called Gavin and Stacey, which it's done quite well and people enjoy you.

And you won all the awards. And it's a fantastic precursor to Ned and Stacey because it was it was not.

But it's quite funny if I do an American interview and they go, I love Ned and Stacey and I just to go and I just go, thank you so much for.

And so we did these sketches for a big charity, Comic Relief, a big drive on like a telethon on the night. And it's a huge deal in the UK. And I've done a few sketches with my character from that sitcom and we decided we had a new idea for it. And oddly, in the very same sketch that Paul McCartney was in, the sketch opened with me and George Michael. Singing songs in a car, and it was that clip that we would send to people's publicists to try and convince them to do carpool karaoke, but the whole sketch ended with a big reveal of Paul McCartney.

And the way you kind of get those sketches together is if you get Paul McCartney, yeah, 10 other people will fall in line.

He'll do it. He's doing it all.

The rest of the world will fall. Yeah, you're right. We have decided to get Paul McCartney. I never met Paul McCartney. I never seen Paul McCartney. And I got in touch with his publicist, all these things.

And they started listening to the Beatles. Let me. Who is this guy? Start to listen to this music. This is good. It's got legs.

Yeah. And they called and they said Paul McCartney is going to call you on Monday at four o'clock on your private phone. So he called me and I just I had it all and I went into this speech and I just said I just said, look, the way these sketches work, Paul, is they drive donations on the night, but people also download and buy them for four pounds. Fifty and four pounds. Fifty is the exact cost of a vaccine to give a vaccine to a child so that they won't get malaria.

So whether you want to admit it or acknowledge it, it's a fact that if you do this sketch, children won't die.

You didn't say that you'll be saving lives. You said children won't die, die.

And he went, bloody hell, James, I've heard some pitches in my time.

This is ridiculous. Well, this is nothing. I said my wife was pregnant at the time. She was my girlfriend at the time. She was pregnant with our first child. We knew it was a boy. And I'd said, if you'd said no to that, I was going to tell you the name my unborn child after you. And he said, deal. If you commit to that, I'll do it. So we did the sketch and we called my son, Max Macartney Cordin and I took a photo of the birth certificate and I sent it to Paul Travancore.

Three days later, this beautiful blanket, this cashmere blanket arrived and embroidered in the corner. It said to Max from one Macartney to another, Love your Uncle Paul. Good Lord.

So from that many on, we sort of had a little bonding, but which is so crazy.

Did you ever think about, like, that blanket, how many kids lives it could have saved if you'd not bought that blanket? Put that to the malaria. I'm just not part of the story.

I sold it and I gave the money to Comic Relief. Yeah, I don't want to go on about my job.

Send you the faces of those kids right now. I have the photos.

He called me last week, Paul. He called me last week because we did a parody of one of his songs.

He did a thing called maybe he meant he he mentioned it. So he called you. It was incredible. Like, I really had a moment. I thought, okay, I may have picked where he called to say he'd seen it and he liked it. And the reason he'd watched that song was that Willie Nelson sent it to him on a text.

And I was like, OK, well, then I'm out.

I don't even understand how that's no way Willie Nelson texts. So it's on it's on a flip phone, though. He's got a hit. He's got to hit the one button three times to get to safety. Yeah. Huh. That's so cool. That must be so.

I mean, what a thrill. So what is your I mean, you act and you perform and you and you're a presenter and the host and stuff and you also obviously excel in music is a big part of what you do. What was that connection? How is what's the music for you? How did that start which came first for you?

Well, I it's important to I don't consider myself in any way like a musician or.

Well, you're a bloody good singer. Let's be let's be real. Yeah.

I just think it's a different thing.

As soon as you say that you're a recording artist, which is just something I would never, ever do. And I really love music and I love singing. And any time we do music on the show or any music cause I've been in, I consider a different thing. But when did it start? I don't know. I don't know if this is the same for you. Like, I feel like it might be with Sean when we've spoken before.

Like, I, I don't remember a time that I didn't want to just perform in some capacity.

I just want you start. You started as a pianist, right, John?

Yeah, I started piano when I was five and I thought I was going to be my life and compose music and all that stuff.

But first of all, though, you've done eight shows a week. Yes. Have a musical, right? Yeah. That to me, I have to that's like people can make fun of you all you want.

You have to be like an athlete. It's like insane. It's the stamina and the endurance is crazy on your voice. And it doesn't matter if you feel like shit or you're tired or whatever at eight o'clock that night. You have to be like that a lot tonight on that.

You have to be so honest. I was puking my brains out one time off stage, came back on, did my song, went off. It was it's just fucking awful. And also the front line workers listening to this. It's hard, I get it.

But it's interesting because since I've taken this job, I meet lots of people who go, oh, God, it must be exhausting. And I do only have a reference like. I did a play in New York, a woman, two captains, and that was never really into I'll never be as tired as I was when I was doing that play. That was eight times a week. Just in pain, but.

Right. Because because Jason and well, the play's talking about its constant physical comedy the entire time you completely falling down, writing anything like it was incredible. And you did that. I mean, I can't imagine your body after that.

Yeah, we did like 400 and I think four hundred and ninety shows in just under two years. It was oh my God, it was brilliant.

I would say you did it for two years. Yeah, we did it at the National Theater, then went to the West End and then we went to New York. Yeah.

You didn't you have problems with your like broken bones or anything? No, I did damage my I damaged my eye, which actually just came back to haunt me about four months ago, which had been fine and then came back. But that was the only real injury. Most of it was just sort of aches and things. But I would say this and this is why I would urge like Jason. Well, to to do it once. Is that play was the happiest time of my professional life.

There were certain nights in New York where I don't know about you, but I almost always only enjoy things retrospectively. I look back and go, Oh, that was a good time. I know I'm doing that play. I was like, there were moments where I thought if I could stay here forever in this minute now, I would I would stay here for this is this is Utopia. I've always dreamed of having the courage to to do theatre on that scale, you know, and you haven't thought.

I've thought about it, too, and I just thought too easy. Yeah. It seems to me, James, you know, you mentioned you hurt your eye doing that show. I kind of don't have sympathy for you because my mom raised five kids with one eye.

Oh, boy, oh, boy. And then she died, that's all. Five kids only had one eye. That's just terrible.

Let's go from that straight to the AutoZone. OK, great. Started up, Jason, let's get to the zone, AutoZone right on, Sean. So we have talked about how the cold can affect your battery.

That's why you want to get a Durel last battery, the battery more consumers choose. Yeah. And how that can wear your alternator, a.k.a. alternate batteries. Not what it's called. Yeah, but you can also get Durah last alternators. They work great. But there's one other thing you really got to look out for during the cold weather and that's the starter with a starter. What does that do. The starter seriously makes the windows go up and down or something.

Yeah. No, no, that's, that's just, that's a button usually found in the door switch the starter. Oh. Converts pressure from the gas pedal into an electronic signal.

Nope. That is an electronic throttle body. How do you even know about that one on the starter starts the car.

I that's correct. And when your battery or alternator are having an issue, the starter has to work overtime and it increases where.

So instead of ah it's like yes, you're right and eventually it won't work at all.

Fortunately you can get your starter tested at AutoZone for free. And if you need a new one, well they have proven tough during last starters are ready to go. A lot of times it's a pretty simple install, just two or three bolts and then you're ready to get back on the road. Absolutely. Batteries alternators starters and more. Get them at AutoZone and AutoZone dotcom. Get on the zone, AutoZone.

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Oh, yeah. You know when it's going to be a long time before I forget about it. All right.

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Let me double back to fame for a second, and the musical or the movie, I don't know.

The movie needs to get redone. By the way, I love that movie.

All right. I'm pushing the button.

So it seems to me that you have held on to plenty of normalcy and jadedness has not crept up on you to the point where I would imagine that it's not lost on you every night how famous these people are that keep sitting in front of you, that you get to talk to you, that you get to come up with questions for. And are you able to enjoy that as much as a, quote, normal person would? Because it seems like you hold that for yourself and therefore you enjoy being exposed to all these super famous people all the time.

Is that accurate?

Yes, I think so, because I. I don't know that it's necessarily famous. People know I stand I my favorite thing in the world is to be around and spend time with talented people, I think. And I am constantly blown away by how talented so many people are. And I find that infectious. Like my favorite thing to do on the show when people come by is I sort of I think, oh, if I was shooting something with them, well, I think we'd have real fun.

Like, that's how I really felt. Every time we've shot something with Will, I've thought, oh, this would be one of those things where when they go, you go well. And anyway, then they say, I can go straight into those pockets of of friendships and things. And I really love being like in a gang.

Yeah, but way to to Jason's point, do you feel because you've met what I'm sure feels like every person in this business you still have at all star struck.

Are you numb to the rush of meeting someone famous anymore?

I can't stress this enough. And you will think that I'm that this is some sort of faux humility and I mean it from the bottom of my heart, like I feel star struck now in this because I do. I don't it's funny when I listen to a podcast that when you were talking to Jennifer Aniston, I always feel like I'm an outsider looking at this gang, like you're talking about how what great hospitality it is at her house.

And I'll sit in the car, go thinking, oh, I'll be great just so I don't in any way feel like. And I do I do think it's important with the nature of our show. I still am in awe of like I feel the same way now on this with you, Jason, thinking I just can't believe this.

Like Arrested Development is just a huge part of my life. Will and Grace, I said watch Will and Grace. The thing that would be the single greatest thing just to go to a taping. Like I still have the same enthusiasm for all of it because I really, really love talented people.

Well, it's what you can tell. It is infectious. You know, when you watch your show, it does come across that. That's what makes you a great host because you are our proxy to these talented, famous people. And you you don't look you don't look bored or disinterested, you know, as a jaded person might.

Well, he hasn't had you on yet. We haven't already established. Yeah. Good point. I also think that's a thing. And actors I do like I think I tell me if I'll be interested, see if you agree with this.

Like I think there are only two types of actor in the world. I think there are aliens and human beings and neither are better. Neither better is no better. But so aliens. You're like Mark Rylance, Daniel Day Lewis, Meryl Streep, Christian Bale, Christian Bale, fines and Houben's, Tom Hanks, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Clooney, George Clooney, like just kind of be us. They are. And so you can watch the same play like I watch Simon Russell Beale do Hamlet and Mark Rylance do a Hamlet.

And it's the same text. And I was watching Mark Rylance thinking, I don't know how he does this. And I watch Simon Russell Beale and I thought, oh, you're me up there. You're representing us, right? You are the audience.

And being just the normal guy, it's kind of sneaky, tough to to not chew it up, you know, unless you've got the skills like an alien does to really morph into somebody else. Yeah.

And I think because it looks easy. Yeah. I like what you like what you do on Ozark, for example. The stillness of it makes people I think think. Go ahead. Just go ahead. Well, go get something.

You got something to say. What just comes here comes I love you and you're my friend and I don't want to hurt you. So sorry James Continuant and how dare you. He's working on it though.

Yeah. He'll come back with it. Keep going. James, you were in the middle of a compliment. I'm sorry.

I think people think that that looks easy and I actually think it's harder than than doing well, just.

The smoke coming out of his ears is he's right. Well, I wanted to say is Jason Stillness as a result of him not knowing the camera started rolling?

Oh, I think that that's not true. Jason is really good. And I think in those moments you see him and you think like, yeah, they've just turned the dial to the don't move mode.

And just, you know, as a robot, dial my back next to the batteries.

No, because I think it's all happening in there. But there is there is that thing. You're right. And I've worked with both of these guys a lot.

And I will say there is you know, Sean and I had so much time, we did a couple of shows and we used to laugh our asses off and fuck around. And it was exactly that. It was cut and it was just trying to make each other laugh on set and trying to screw around. And then my introduction to working on a regular basis started when Jason and I worked on Arrested Development. And I will say, and I don't know if I've ever said this out loud, I learned so much because Jason's been doing it since he was a kid.

I learned so much, I knew so little, and I learned so much from Jason from that experience. And he was like a friend and a big brother. And he taught me a lot of things and he taught me with a lot of tough love, like, hey, stupid, why are you standing there giggling, you know, whatever. But it was so great. And there is that thing, that human thing of like, you're being silly or you're having fun, but you're really you're enjoying it and you're really in the moment.

And those moments you do look back, I, I will say Arrested Development was the thing.

I remember the second season every day driving onto the Fox lot and I hand my past to the guy or, you know, whatever for the gate to go up. And I think every single fucking day I thought, I am the luckiest guy in the world. And I really I really, really, really appreciate it, especially after spending years struggling. I thought, this is it. I got to really enjoy it, enjoy it and enjoy it.

So, yeah. James, I'm sorry. We'll get back to you.

So so I'm from Toronto. You ask me where I'm from, no matter what. I want to ask you something.

So, James, when you were a kid, did you have like a specific dream, as in a late night talk show, or is the dream just to do anything in show business? You just want to be a part of it? Or did you want to be Johnny Carson or whoever?

No, it definitely wasn't to be a talk show host in in any way. It came so out of the blue, even being offered this job. I was even when I got off of that, I was like, what's that?

I don't think that was in a decision where you said you turned it down. I don't know if I'd be able to turn that down.

I did turn it down twice just because I felt like I knew what I was going to do for the next 18 months. And I feel like that's quite a good amount of time to know how long you're doing stuff for.

And yeah. And the offer come out of the blue. It was just like, well, the offer came out.

I was writing a show, I came to Los Angeles I'd been twice before and I've done that round, which I've just come to Los Angeles and dying of encouragement of, you know, people just giving you a tiny bottle of water and saying they'd love to work with you and then never hearing from them again. And then I decided I thought I'd written a show for the BBC, another show called The Romance, which we knew was probably going to be the last bit of that.

And I had this new idea for a show. So I came to L.A. and I pitched it everywhere. And then it was one of those strange weeks where by the end of the week there was like six offers to to make this show. And then the offers got to have financial capacity, which I genuinely was mind blowing to me. I didn't even know that you Americans earned this sort of money, like TV shows like I cannot tell you how that is not the experience for any other country in the world.

And I was like, this is insane. This is crazy in any way. CBS, I didn't know this, but my my old boss is Les Moonves and Nina Tassler, who was the chairman and the president that were both seen. The play we've done before. And I didn't know that they'd seen it. And they made, without question, the biggest financial offer for me to see the show. But I turned it down because the more I thought about it, I thought, this is a show that would probably live on HBO.

This is the show that you had written that you had pitched the idea and I pitched. So I decided to make with HBO and CBS didn't understand how that was even supposed to like it was genuine, was like four times the financial offer. So I was in New York and I went to see Nina Tassler and Les and I sat with them and told them, I said, look, you're you're mad to be upset about this. I've done you the biggest favor ever.

I said I would have written a show that you wouldn't have liked. You would have tried to change it because you've overpaid for it. I'd hate you for changing it. You'd hate me for being annoyed at changing it. We'd hate each other and never work together again. I said, I promise you, this show is never going to be on your network. You will hate it. And Stephen Colbert just been announced right as the take away from Letterman and Craig Ferguson to said he was stepping down.

And I said to them, I said, look, I think that twelve thirty. Is what are you going to do with that, and I thought we were just chatting by this point and I said, if you don't make a show that embraces the Internet, there's no point doing. I said, you have got to make a show for kids and stoners. They all still want to watch late night. They just don't have a TV and they don't care about a schedule.

You know, they've passed out by 10:00 or. Exactly.

And they won't find it the next day.

This is a generation of people who just want to watch it now and forever listen around, which shows a lot of people don't know that stoners and babies have been hanging out a lot together. Sorry, keep going.

And I said, did I say strollers and babies? Those stoners and children, I guess.

To be fair, kids, teen teens, teens, what I mean. So anyway, then that night this offer came in. Would you like to host the show? And I said, I don't think so. And then they came back and said the first one was like to apply to the next one was like, just do the show. And I said, no, sorry, I'm going to write this other thing and I might go and do a musical on Broadway.

And and then it went quiet for a bit. And then I went to South Africa to shoot this show in Johannesburg. And I was I'll never forget it. I was in this like service department in Johannesburg and I was realizing that really all I want to do is just be creative every day. I just want to be creative and hang out with creative people. And I was skipping my pregnant wife.

By the way, it should be mentioned that Sean also did a pilot right before he left L.A. He and I love the TV's keep going, James. So I was going I never got picked up Skype, my wife and I thought, this is only going to get harder. This will only get harder to keep it clean.

James, please keep it clean and love the cheapie. Oh, my God. Go ahead.

This will only get more difficult being away from them. Right. And here is someone offering me a job where I'll get to be around. And yeah, I started to think maybe you're an idiot to not turn this down. And wouldn't you rather regret doing something than not doing something? And then I sort of decided, OK, let's leap into it. And we all just moved. And it was kind of born from that conversation with Lesson and Nina.

And they followed up on it and said, great, put your money where your mouth is.

Yeah. You do it right. Yeah. Yeah.

Also, you're you know, you seem to have accomplished something as a talk show host that a lot of talk show hosts have not been able to do, which is be a host as well as an actor at the same time. Yeah, like, I can't think of another remarkable day that that does, but it seems like you're constantly working. Like I said, you're doing when you're not doing your show. You're in every single movie because it's a fifty week a year job, right?

Well, mine isn't. So that was part of the agreement, really. The agreement was I'd do it if I could go and do other things because I really, really love acting and I love writing and I love working with actors and directors.

And how often do you get to take time off? Is that written? No, I have a good break in the summer. So that's a break where I know is there to shoot stuff. Right. And then other times it's just an agreement really, that if something comes along, we'll figure it out. And it's difficult and it's hard on the team. But I sort of feel without those things I don't know about, you might think that with this with this podcast, I feel like side projects in a way.

They actually reenergized me into the show more. Yeah. Because I get back here in this room, I mean now and I go, oh, I know what I'm doing here. You know, like anything.

It's also Sean, it's like cheating on Scottie. You were telling me, right? It just keeps that fresh. You know, you realize, oh, wait, no, I've got something pretty great.

Yeah, for sure. You need that. You need that nudge. That reminder.

So.

So you're saying so you're saying, James, if you if you had to choose between being only being an actor and only being a talk show host, you can't you can't answer that question, can't you.

Yeah. Yeah. No, I would be, I would act. Oh well there it is. Yeah. How about the tape.

But it takes you away from the family and you can only see them. You will never go longer than two weeks without seeing them. But that's going to happen a lot. Then I'd be a talk show host. Yeah, yeah. Jason, what would you do? Oh, hang on, we already know the answer.

Fucking monster. No, I am serious. And you can check this because I've bored people talking about it before. Being a talk show host is one of my dreams. I it would be a very difficult thing for me to turn down what I thought.

You dreamed of being on Broadway. How many fucking dreams? I dream about everything. I am an adult. What I dreamed of. Everybody dreamed of it.

But for a lot of the same reasons that the routine of it, the schedule of it being able to talk to a bunch of people that you admire. Same by the way. I always thought maybe the hours were a little cushy and then Kimmel corrected me on that. It's not as easy as you guys make it look. It's it's it's a I've had the same dream.

I don't think they have enough time for the length of your questions, Jason, because they have to see.

That said, I love to hear myself talk. So a talk show producer would be like, hey, act one will be the question at two and three and be the answer.

You guys are dicks. When was the moment when was the moment, James, that you felt?

I remember seeing you, you were just about to start and Craig Ferguson show ended and I did one episode. That's right. I guess I said and I saw you, but we didn't know each other. But I said and I had Kimmel and David Cross and Chris.

That's right. And I had a big chat. A long chat with Jimmy Kimmel was the first time I met him and. Yeah. Blown away by his insane levels of kindness. Yeah.

It's such a sweet guy. And Jason mentioned that he's a good friend of ours and he's such a sweet guy. And you came in and you were you were a known quantity. You were as known in America necessarily. But we knew who you were.

People who you know who the tastemakers, the three of us are the tastemakers of America influencers. That was the other titles, our primary influencers. Sure. That's a different way to say it to.

Yeah, we're in coastal elites. Are we constantly.

Are we by the way, we just got elite status, really. Kind of like frequent flyers. Yeah, we're coastal elites and guys. But what was that moment?

I know that you came. I remember seeing you and you were just getting ready to do the show, and I just. Do you remember that moment where you kind of crossed over? Were you nervous at all at first?

Like, were you running around and struggling to find your your voice, so to speak?

It was well, I remember that day so vividly because I met John Krasinski quite a few times, so I felt like all he gives me a legitimate reason to go over and say hi. And you were in the studio, actually, that I can see out my window now. And I went over and I was so blown away by like and have been ever since actually by Kimo's like, openness to just be a person and just the way that he as opposed to Kazinsky, who's a fucking monster.

But, you know, Jimmys like I was asking him different things and I felt like I got him asking too many questions, but he just kept going. No, it's this is this is. All right. It's OK. It's great. You know, and I think, look, we had to move to America and hire a staff and build a set and launch the show in eleven and a half weeks. And that was a crazy amount of time.

But in truth, I look back at it now and I'm very grateful to it because we didn't really have a chance to sort of second guess stuff. Right. We didn't have time to sit and scratch our heads going. But should it feel more like this? It was just there's an idea. Go run with it and so quick because you have to.

And it's like get through that day and you've got another show tomorrow.

Yeah, right. Yeah. We just knew we had to like, hit the ground running. So we knew that we had no kind of goodwill built up with an audience. I wasn't just left Saturday Night Live or The Daily Show or a sitcom. There was nothing. So we thought we've really got to try and make our first few weeks on the air. We also knew we would follow Letterman for like a month and then he was going to drop off and we were following repeats of Hawaii five oh.

And so we were like, if we don't do some really big things in this first four weeks, this is going to be a bleak summer.

That must have been nerve racking. Yeah, it really must have been. It was. And we will be right back.

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What's your executive producer name? Your friend Ben Winston. Yeah. Yeah, Ben. So. So Ben is a great guy. Did he come with you? Had you guys known each other?

He's my best friend, who's the best man at my wedding. And he's also, I knew, the best TV producer in, I think in the country for sure. And so when I got the job, which actually he was the person that was saying, you absolutely shouldn't do this, you absolutely shouldn't do this. And then we talked about it and we talked and I explained to him kind of what I felt the show should look and feel like, and it would feel closer to a variety show.

Then he was like, OK. And then I said to CBS, I really only come if my friend Ben can come with me. And they I think they are first. They're a bit like he's bringing his friend who's a producer.

Right. Right. And then they then they met him.

Then they met him and were like, oh, you're amazing. You should take over the Grammys, you know? And he's now like he is. It was really hard when he came to America because he's so handsome and charismatic. Yeah. And then there's me. So we would go to lots of meetings where people don't say over, wait, hang on. There we go to meetings where people didn't know who James Corden was and who Ben Winston was.

And all they've been told is one is this new talk show host and the other is a genius producer. And by any metric, we look like we're in the wrong body.

There's the on camera guy. Other than that, how are you still loving doing it?

And do you see an end date in sight? Not that we want that. I hope you do it for another ten decades, but for you personally, is there like a limit that you see yourself?

I don't know.

In truth, I have like a couple of years to go on this contract. It will never be ending. The show will always be a big family decision than a professional one like it will be about people at home who we miss very, very much we're homesick for. And I also feel like my wife and I, we have three young children and they are three young grandchildren that we've taken away from people. And in this probably feels particularly magnified now during the pandemic.

But I have an overwhelming feeling that, like our family has walked to the beat of my drum for a very long time. And we should probably and I also don't know genuinely and I'm interested to know what you think about this, Jason. And we're with children like I really feel very conscious of the fact that I don't know that I necessarily want to be putting out the volume of stuff onto YouTube and Snapchat and ticktock on Facebook and all these things.

When I've got, like teenagers, I don't know what that feels like at school. I think it's a different thing being an actor in a show or you've got a film come out and then you disappear for a while while you film something else. And it's so you're always putting stuff out there to make it harder on your kids experience.

Yeah. Oh, your dad. You know, dad's in cancer. Your dad's trending on Twitter. I'll tell you something, James.

James to that.

I had a very I was taking my son to to look at some new schools last year, you know, to move to a middle school. And his mom and I took him, went with him and we were driving back to his school after. And I said he seemed kind of down. I said, how are you doing? He said, I don't know. I said, Did you like that place? He said, I just wanted to get out of there.

And I said, Why? And he said, Because all those kids, they all knew you and Mama were at the end there. And I just felt like that everybody was coming over and just looking at and just looking out and looking at me. Yeah. And I thought in that moment and I dropped him at school and I almost started I almost burst into tears when he said it. And I thought, am I robbing him of a normal life, normal school experience?

And then I thought, right. He's sitting in a Porsche. I had a chat with a good friend of mine and she's a singer and we were talking about the experience of going to Disneyland, if you're like, well known. And I said, oh, man. I said, I'll never forget. I said, you know, we just we didn't queue. We didn't stand in line anywhere. And I said, I'm looking at my kids thinking, you don't know you're born.

This is crazy. And she just went, Yeah, but when you weigh it up with the shit they're going to have to deal with because you're their dad not waiting in line is probably, you know what I mean.

And you're like, oh, yeah, it's just all the stuff that comes with that stuff.

But it wasn't it wasn't a group decision is what you're saying. It was. Yeah, they have no choice. Yeah. It is a weird thing.

It's obviously not exclusive to any of us, you know, people who are on TV and film the kids and they've been dealing with it forever. And how do you properly in the most healthy way, frame it for a kid? What it is that we do? I remember driving by some billboard or something or a poster, and my daughter, who was at the time I was second or third grade, and she said, Oh yeah, I want to tell this is near my friend's house.

And I tell my friend that, you know, you're on a poster. I said, no, no, don't don't say that. That I'm on. Why? OCA's just instinctually said, because you it's bad. It's like like, you know, how you sometimes incorrectly might frame money or something like, oh, don't, don't don't talk about, you know, that that that grandma sent you one hundred dollars and you kind of frame something in a negative so that they don't brag, but then you've stamped something as a negative, then they think oh there's something wrong with our family.

And it was a confusing thing that I'm glad they're a little bit older now to get a little bit more context towards. But it's obviously something that that is our our burden that we need to figure out a better way to explain to them than obviously I'm doing here. But it's certainly not worth stopping for.

No, but I think that burden is enhanced if you are just constantly putting out, you know, look, it's an hour a day, you know, you know, so it's an hour a day that gets chopped up and shared online and all those things. And that just it just it all just plays on my mind how far away we are from home. And I also don't I really, really don't ever want to be doing the show if I'm not just absolutely loving it.

Yeah, I like this. One of the funniest things I thought Letterman ever said was when he announced his retirement, he said he said, I told myself that when I got bored with this job a decade later, I'd retire.

Yeah.

And and I sort of feels like maybe maybe it was a real it was a really punk move to to choose to do it. And maybe maybe the really punk move is to is to stop what I'm still really enjoying it. And then it will always kind of be perfect, you know. Yeah. Yeah.

You know, back to when you guys had those problems with your kids and stuff.

I you know, I have a dog named Ricky, and when I drop him off at a dog park, I was like always the same because, you know, just be quiet till we're done talking about children. So I bring up tuna sandwich. I want to be we still get along. Great.

We'll never look after you. You all right? Look at James. You know, you've been in a billion things that I've all like hit, hit after hit after hit. You're always in these things that work. Your show is a massive hit. That's why I want to say, as Chris Cuomo would say, let's get after it. Cats, what happened?

Oh, my God, I haven't seen it.

So I'm. Oh, OK. No, I've not watched it. Here's what I'll say about cats, and you can ask whatever questions you want. Here's what I was on this issue and I'm really mean this. I had such a great time. I went to London for eight days, shot the song with a brilliant group of black actors hanging out with, like star Judi Dench and Ian McKellen. And then all of a sudden, I just like I had a blast.

So I think you have to be really, really careful not to judge whether something was valuable to you as to whether it's successful at the box office. Right. Or it's nothing to do with one another because I've had really miserable times. Yeah. On things that are really successful. And I'm like, well, that was a right time in my life. So actually I should never look upon that as a success and vice versa.

I love that you said that you had a great time. That's always the mark for me anyway, because I'm yeah, I've done a lot of films and worked with a lot of people that had a lot of fun and had a great time and their great moments in my in my life. And I think that that is truly I mean, it's almost harder, you know, it's almost harder.

It is amazing how rare it is to have a really harmonious set for one reason or another. And there are many, many reasons why I can go sideways. It's a real special thing when you've got a bunch of people that just sort of agree, either verbally or not, to just treat each other. Well, it goes a long way.

And I have to imagine, James, and this is truly from the heart, that because of who you are and I've now got to hang out with you several times over the years and that any set you're on, any set that you are on is going to be a great set because you are joy and your energy is always positive and you're always professional and you're always so freakin talented that that's why I like I saw cats.

You were fantastic in it. And everything that you're in, you are great. And I'm sure every set that you're a part of, everybody's excited to be involved.

Guaranteed joy is the key for sure. Joy is the key. I'm not saying me as joy. I'm saying just if you if you start every day thinking, well, how can this be a joyful environment? Like I had to quote, my dad told me something the other day where he said what he said, let me try and get this right. He says, You should never write your opinion of yourself by the metric of the joyless. Like, if someone doesn't have joy, what they think of you is irrelevant, because joy is what you have to cling to.

And like the best example of that, and this will sound like a real namedrop. But like when we talk about into the words like I just did this musical, a film musical with Meryl Streep, again, Jesus Christ crime.

And you play the part of one of my best friends.

I brought, you know, Brooke segments. Guest is amazing. It's one of the funniest people. He's one of the funniest people I've ever met in my life. Yeah. Meryl Streep is the epitome of what everyone should seek to be on a set, which is I'm going to take the work incredibly seriously and I'll never take myself seriously for a second. I love that she's in for the fun. She wants to be in a gang. She wants to like have she wants you to try and make her laugh if the camera's on somewhere else, like she is like and there you go.

Oh, my God. That's why that's why your career is so incredible, is you've never lost the joy of essentially what we do is play dress up and put on a show. And this can be really serious. You can be doing something. We have a seat in the thing. The two of us are like crying our eyes out in a hotel room. It took us three days to shoot. But in between those bits, she's telling me stories about this and that.

And you go, that's it. You can't lose the joy of. The greatest thing you can do is like if any of us could have a conversation, any of the four people here can have a conversation with your twelve year old self and say this is what your life's going to be like. His head would explode, his head would explode. And I, I just never tried to stop that feeling. And I could tell people on our show will tell you I can be grouchy as fuck.

Sometimes I'm boring all those things, but I try my absolute best to just go. This is just a gift. And at some point we're all going to get a tap on the shoulder that goes, Hey, buddy.

Yeah, yeah, no, I really want it anymore. And what you want to do is go look back and go.

I made a lot of friends and I really spent a lot of the day laughing. I couldn't agree more.

James, it's the most important thing to me. I spend my whole every day. These guys are looking for different ways to have fun. It's the only way. And I said a friend of mine said to me recently, he said. He was joking, but he said I said something stupid. He said, grow up. And I said, why, yes. You know, people have been tapping well on the shoulder for several years. But he just swatted away like it's like, well, that's just because I'm a lawyer.

I take a long time to pee. Just because I got my bag is so full because I went in there. Sometimes the hose gets caught. Sure. James, you're brilliant. We love you and want to take any more of your time. Yes.

I've got one question which I'm keen to know from you three just while we're on the say. I have a question for you, if that's OK.

I'm interested to know, are you three do you think you're good now at separating yourself and your career? Do you know what I mean? Because I think every sort of actor performer, when they start their entire life is about what am I doing? Who am I working with? Is it impressive enough? Am I these things are you do you consider yourselves people that are good at separating? Well, this is me and this is my work. And if this goes away, I still exist.

Absolutely.

100 percent. I started that years ago, or at least I tried two years ago. Where. Yeah, exactly. We just said you're not you can't you can't invest in defining yourself by this business and your stature in it. You'll be a miserable human being.

Yeah, I made I made the mistake of doing that when I was younger. And then when it went away, I had no self-worth, no self value. It was it was horrific.

And I felt so foolish to to identify myself with something that, you know, is not a it's not a meritocracy, you know. No, no. Real art is it's all sort of subjective.

And I always say the thing that Jason Bateman said to me years and years and years ago, which is I love you, none of this is up to you. Oh, yes.

He said none of this is, I think, the thing you like with Jason. We're seeing that with Jason. For instance, when you scratch the surface, it's just more surface.

But but no, I, I honestly, I stopped I stopped a long time ago pegging my happiness and my self-worth to what I do.

And it's completely it's been a few years now, but for me, it's it's about friends like these guys and it's about my kids and it's about my life. And that comes first and foremost and everything else. And I mean everything else comes second to that.

Yeah. You can't. Yeah, we set it all.

I don't know if I envy those who work in an occupation that that is a meritocracy, but it's maybe I do. I think it's it's really admirable. The people that find themselves in an occupation where it's a requirement that you go to eight years of school and you have this diploma and you have this certificate of of those who are doctors and lawyers and these technicians. I admire that. And if you are the best at that, it's it's quantifiable. In our in our world, there is no best.

It's all just kind of up to the to the audience. There's something great about that. But there's also something that's that's terrifying about that, too.

If you have a degree in acting, you know. But you're bad, right?

It doesn't matter. I just I'm just an expert at that third degree burns, you know, guy who got third degree burns.

Got it right. James, thank you. I found something to trim out. Thank you so much for being here.

We're all huge fans and and Jason is going to be on your show by tomorrow.

Get can you get ready? Sean and I are going to come we're going to be in the audience when Jason finally comes on the show. Yeah.

Jason should be on your show and just me and will on the. That would be tremendous.

I would love that so much. Nothing would give me more pleasure. This has been the absolute highlight of my day. And any time I've been lucky enough to be in Europe, it's I've always, always thought, well, this is this is why you moved to America to hang out with people like this. I mean, and I'm I'm so thrilled to be on your show. And I will forever be a fan and hopeful friend of all three of you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

James, you're the best. You're the best. Thank you so much.

It's fun to see somebody. I was great.

That thing he said towards the end. I know what I wanted to say now was like a lot of the times. And tell me how you guys feel.

A lot certain, I'll say, actors or other producers, directors, writers, whatever they wake up thinking, America or the world is waiting with bated breath about their next move.

No, they think they're just not right. Nobody cares. They care when it comes out.

They're like, oh, I love that person, but ah, I love that director. I love that writer.

And then they still might not see it. I can't tell you how many films are directors that I love or actors that I love is like I'm going to see everything. And I still might forget to go like it's so thin to everybody else, right? It feels like the world to the people who are doing it right. And it should so that you have a good time doing it, but you can't control the outcome. So you better have fun while you're doing it.

But really interesting to get to talk to him for that long because he is it's always like a seven minute bits on his show. So, you know, and you talk in the middle of the commercials, but just to get to know him further and and get inside his head, it was really cool. What do you say?

Like during the commercials, when they go to music and you, like, turned to. And it's going pretty good, right? Yeah. How are you? I mean, everybody everybody in my family was like when I was first going through the doctors, like, what do you guys talk about when you start whispering? I'm like, nothing. You just start saying, thanks for having me here.

I want to see a talk show host because it is sort of a cliche, like as you go to commercial, they always like lean in and they kind of like whisper to the guests like, well, what do they talk? Why don't they do that? Well, I just once I want to see talk shows, just stare at the guest and not make any move to talk to them and to go.

Well, Letterman used to, for most guests, not talk to them in between. No. Right.

And kind of famously and and Carson would smoke a little bit castle and smoke a little bit is the last right there. They cut it up.

And now James Corden is one of those talk show hosts. Yeah.

Yeah. But he's such a naturally great guy. And he does have I think one of the reasons that we I mean, the three of us respond to him so well, not only he's a good host, but also he is. And he said that he would take he'd be an actor over being a host. I mean, he is an actor at heart and yeah, and people go it's one of those things I fucking hate is people say, oh, fucking actors.

And like ordinary actors, like some of the best, greatest people in my whole in my life, all my so many of my friends are actors. They're incredibly creative, talented people. Right, Sam. And and people who disparage them.

There are some doozies, though. No, I don't disagree with that. But there are doozies everywhere. It's true. I think investment bankers aren't 99 percent douchebags.

99 is a big number. They're the fucking worst. Can you imagine how boring it is listening to a bunch of hedge fund guys? Can I speak to the hedge fund folks in our audience?

This bill does not speak for I have a good I have a couple good friends who are bankers, who have been for years, who are who are the exception to the rule.

Quite the one percent. They are they are my my friend Dan is one of the funniest, greatest, nicest guys you'll ever meet.

And he's a bank too late. I think he just deleted your name.

You can't save it. You can't save it. Yeah, I just saved it. That's OK. That's considered to say already deleted.

You know what I think, though? Because you tried to save that. I think it's time to say my.

But smart. Smart bombs.