Funnyman James Corden
The actor talks about his Grammy goal and raising his daughter as an American
COURTING THE SPOTLIGHT Raised in London, James (38) knew from the age of four that he wanted to perform. The defining moment came when he stood on a chair at his baby sister Ruth’s christening to get a better view of her being baptised then realised the congregation was looking at him. “I started pulling faces and the ripple of oohs and aahs turned into giggles, and the giggles turned into laughs as I bent over and looked back at them through my legs. Everyone was looking at me and I pretended to sing into a microphone. I don’t know what happened to my insides up there but they changed forever.” After the christening the congregation gave him a round of applause. James says he realised, even at the age of four, that this was the greatest feeling he’d ever had. And he’s been chasing it ever since.
LITTLE AMERICAN
Quizzed about which was scarier – hosting The Late Late Show or his role as father to Max (5) and Carey (2) – James revealed he finds fatherhood far more daunting than live TV. James and his wife, TV producer Julie Carey, moved to Los Angeles when their daughter was five weeks old and he says his greatest fear is raising Carey as an American. “I worry she’s not going to know life in Britain. It will be a place we come to in winter where she’s going to be, ‘Why is it so cold? Grandma and Granddad don’t even have a pool, this is
disgusting!’ I hope that doesn’t happen.”
GRAMMY GOAL The British actor, singer and comic, who’s been hosting The Late Late Show on US TV network CBS for almost two years, says he’s “truly honoured” to be hosting the 59th annual Grammy Awards. Although he’s vowed to “make it as fun as possible”, James recently confessed his real aim on Grammy night will be to introduce himself to the one A-lister he hasn’t yet rubbed shoulders with. “I’ve never met Beyoncé,” he said of the pop star who’s nominated for an astounding nine Grammys this year.
INTERNET SENSATION His charm and comedic talent have seen James amass a legion of US fans as host of The Late Late Show but his real success has happened online. The show’s YouTube channel has close to 9,5 million subscribers thanks to James’ Carpool Karaoke segments. The actor chalks this up to the changing entertainment landscape where the internet and social media have made prime-time TV slots redundant. “I genuinely couldn’t tell you how many people watch our show because I feel like in this slot we’re not in the ratings business – we’re in the relevance business. My main ambition is to stay relevant.”