Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert (/koʊlˈbɛər/ kohl-BAIR; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program The Colbert Report from 2005 to 2014 and the CBS talk program The Late Show with Stephen Colbert since September 2015.
Colbert originally studied to be a dramatic actor, but became interested in improvisational theater while attending Northwestern University, where he met Second City director Del Close. Colbert first performed professionally as an understudy for Steve Carell at Second City Chicago, where his troupemates included Paul Dinello and Amy Sedaris, comedians with whom he developed the sketch comedy series Exit 57. He wrote and performed on The Dana Carvey Show before collaborating with Sedaris and Dinello again on the television series Strangers with Candy. He gained attention for his role on the latter as closeted gay history teacher Chuck Noblet.
Colbert's work as a correspondent on Comedy Central's news-parody series The Daily Show gained him wide recognition. In 2005, he left The Daily Show to host The Colbert Report. Following The Daily Show's news-parody concept, The Colbert Report was a parody of personality-driven political opinion shows including The O'Reilly Factor, in which he portrayed a caricatured version of conservative political pundits, earning Colbert an invitation to perform as featured entertainer at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in 2006, which he did in character. This event led to the series becoming one of Comedy Central's highest-rated series. After ending The Colbert Report, he was hired in 2015 to succeed retiring David Letterman as host of the Late Show on CBS. He hosted the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards in September 2017.
Colbert has won nine Primetime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and three Peabody Awards. Colbert was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in 2006 and 2012. His book I Am America (And So Can You!) was listed No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2007.
Colbert supports the implementation of the Medicare for All plan introduced by Bernie Sanders, considering it "a sensible fix to Obamacare". When asked about his views on abortion, Colbert positioned himself as pro-choice. On the intersection of faith and politics, Colbert has pointed out that his views are in line with those of Cesar Chávez. Colbert has been critical of Israel's mistreatment of Palestinians. During the 2023 writers strike he showed his support to the writers, saying: "I'm a member of the guild. I support collective bargaining. This nation owes so much to unions." In May, 2023, Colbert was permanently banned from entering Russia alongside 500 other Americans, due to being “involved in the spread of Russophobic attitudes and fakes.” These bans were made in response to U.S. imposed sanctions on the country.
Filmography[edit]
Film[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Shock Asylum | Dr. Dewalt | Short film |
| 2003 | Nobody Knows Anything! | TV Newsman | |
| 2005 | The Great New Wonderful | Mr. Peersall | |
| Bewitched | Stu Robison | ||
| 2006 | Strangers with Candy | Chuck Noblet | Also writer and producer |
| 2008 | The Love Guru | Jay Kell | |
| 2009 | Monsters vs. Aliens | President Hathaway (voice) | |
| 2011 | Company | Harry | Filmed production |
| 2013 | The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | Lake-town spy | Cameo |
| 2014 | Mr. Peabody & Sherman | Paul Peterson (voice) | |
| 2017 | Too Funny to Fail | Himself | Documentary |
| 2020 | In & Of Itself | — | Executive producer |
Television[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Missing Persons | Chet Davies | Episode: "Cabe... What Kind of Name Is That? |
| 1995–1996 | Exit 57 | Various | 12 episodes; also co-creator and writer |
| 1996 | The Dana Carvey Show | Various | 8 episodes; also writer |
| Spin City | Frank | Episode: "The Competition" | |
| 1996–2011 | Saturday Night Live | Ace / Dr. Brainio (voices) | 14 episodes; also writer |
| 1997 | Apartment 2F | Various roles | Episode: "1.6" |
| The Chris Rock Show | Announcer (voice) | Episode: "1.5" | |
| 1997–2005 | The Daily Show | Stephen Colbert (correspondent) | 1,316 episodes; also writer |
| 1999 | Late Night with Conan O'Brien | Violin Player | Episode: "1,144" |
| Random Play | Various | 2 episodes | |
| 1999–2000 | Strangers with Candy | Chuck Noblet | 30 episodes; also co-creator, writer and executive producer |
| 2001–2007 | Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law | Phil Ken Sebben / Myron Reducto / Various voices | 34 episodes |
| 2002 | The New York Friars Roast of Chevy Chase | Himself | Television special |
| 2002 | Crank Yankers | Rob (voice) | Episode: "1.1" |
| 2004 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Tourist Man | Episode: "Opening Night" |
| Law & Order: Criminal Intent | James Bennett | Episode: "The Saint" | |
| The Wrong Coast | Various voices | 2 episodes | |
| 2004, 2006
2015 |
The Venture Bros. | Professor Richard Impossible (voice) | 3 episodes |
| 2005 | American Dad! | Dr. Dandliker (voice) | Episode: "All About Steve" |
| All-Star Alphabet | The letter 'Z' | Sesame Street special | |
| 2005–2014 | The Colbert Report | Stephen Colbert (host) | 1,447 episodes; also co-creator, writer and executive producer |
| 2006 | White House Correspondents' Dinner | Stephen Colbert (host) | TV special |
| 2007 | The Simpsons | Colby Krause (voice) | Episode: "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs" |
| 2008 | A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! | Stephen Colbert | TV special |
| 2010 | Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear | Stephen Colbert (host) | TV special |
| 2012 | The Office | Broccoli Rob | Episode "Here Comes Treble" |
| 2013 | Alpha House | Stephen Colbert | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2014 | @midnight | Stephen Colbert | Episode: "156" |
| 2014–2015 | BoJack Horseman | Mr. Witherspoon (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | House of Cards | Stephen Colbert | Episode: "Chapter 27" |
| The Mindy Project | Father Michael O'Donnell | Episode: "Confessions of a Catho-holic" | |
| Rick and Morty | Zeep Xanflorp (voice) | Episode: "The Ricks Must Be Crazy" | |
| 2015–present | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | Himself (host) | Also executive producer and writer |
| 2017 | At Home with Amy Sedaris | Himself | Episode: "Gift Giving" |
| 69th Primetime Emmy Awards | Himself (host) | TV special | |
| 2018–2020 | Our Cartoon President | — | 46 episodes; also co-creator, writer and executive producer |
| Wolf Blitzer / Various voices | 25 episodes | ||
| 2018 | Harvey Birdman: Attorney General | Phil Ken Sebben (voice) | TV special |
| 2019 | Madam Secretary | Himself | Episode "Hail to the Chief" |
| 2019–2022 | Critical Role | Capo / Lucky Jack | 2 episodes |
| 2020–2023 | Tooning Out the News | — | Co-creator, writer and executive producer |
| 2021 | Girls5eva | Alf Musik | Episode: "Alf Musik" |
| Teenage Euthanasia | Announcer (voice) | Episode: "Dada M.I.A." | |
| 2021–2023 | Hell of A Week with Charlamagne tha God | — | Executive producer |
| 2022 | Fairview | — | Executive producer |
Video games[edit]
| Year | Title | Voice role |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Outlaw Tennis | Announcer |
Theatre[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Company | Harry | Concert with the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center |
Published works[edit]
- Colbert, Dinello, Sedaris. Wigfield: The Can-Do Town That Just May Not (Hyperion, May 19, 2004) ISBN 0-7868-8696-X
- America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (Warner Books; September 2004) ISBN 0-446-53268-1
- I Am America (And So Can You!) (Grand Central Publishing; October 9, 2007) ISBN 0-446-58050-3
- America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't (Grand Central Publishing; October 2, 2012) ISBN 0-446-58397-9
- I Am a Pole (And So Can You!) (Grand Central Publishing; May 8, 2012) ISBN 1-455-52342-9
- Stephen Colbert's Midnight Confessions (Simon & Schuster; September 5, 2017) ISBN 978-150116900
