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James Corden Tells Jimmy Fallon the Hardest Thing About Leaving Late Night
Corden shared that moving back to London was more "overwhelming" than his family anticipated, but that's not the (hilarious) reason he misses hosting The Late Late Show.
James Corden sat down for a chat on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on January 29, and the former Late Late Show with James Corden told Jimmy Fallon what life is like on the other side as a retired late night talk show host. (Lest one think Corden is playing favorites with his former colleagues, he visits Late Night with Seth Meyers on January 30).
Corden's last Late Late Show was on April 2, 2023, and he and his family have made some major changes since then—including a move back across the pond to Corden's native England.
"If I'm honest, it's been harder, or more overwhelming perhaps, than we thought it was going to be as a family," Corden shared. "New schools, and all those things—and you're only as happy as your least happy child. That's just the truth of it."
Fallon, who has two kids, agreed. Corden added that, unlike his 12-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter, "our youngest daughter, Charlotte, she's 6, and she is American. She's an American, and we we treat her as such." This includes letting her cover her food in marshmallows for Thanksgiving, he joked.
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James Corden names what he misses most about hosting The Late Late Show
Fallon, who celebrates ten years of The Tonight Show this year, asked Corden what life is like "on the other side." While Corden said his main focus is adjusting to their big move as a family, "it's great."
Is there anything you miss at all?" Fallon asked.
The camaraderie between the small circle of people who know what this odd gig is like, for one.
"I miss being in a gang," Corden told Fallon, who sweetly adjusted Corden's collar at the top of their interview. "Do you know what I mean? Like, that's the thing which no one really understands with these shows, is you're just in a gang, and you form this little sort of found family, and I miss that greatly."
"Putting on a show every day, it's such a privilege," he continued. "You never, ever take that for granted."
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But there's one hilarious reason Corden really misses having a nightly gig.
"The thing I miss more than anything, which I didn't realize at the time, and I only realized now, is: You have got a ready-made, built-in excuse to get out of anything you don't want to do," he said, insisting he was serious as the audience laughed.
"Because you just say to people, 'Ah, I can't, I've got a show.' They go, 'You know, we've got a christening.' 'Ah! Ugh! I wish. I've got this show!' And everyone believes you—everyone goes, 'Well, he does have a show.'"
Corden's not out of the celebrity interview game, however, as he's rolling out an intimate new SiriusXM series, This Life of Mine with James Corden, featuring guests like Jeremy Renner, Martin Scorsese, and Kerry Washington.
"My hope is that the show will feel like a real warm hug," Corden said, adding that he wants The Roots bandleader Questlove to join as a guest (same).
Watch James Corden's interview with Jimmy Fallon above, and watch The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon weeknights at 11:35/10:35c.
