Seth Meyers ready to helm ‘Late Night’ … … with a little help from hiS friendS
SETH Meyers is the first to admit that there’s nothing in his background that qualifies him to host his own late-night talk show, sitting behind a desk and chatting with celebrities five nights a week.
But he has a very good and very powerful guardian angel who thinks he can handle it.
“I will say that so much of this job is having confidence to think you can go out there every night and be good at it. For me, there’s no better gift of confidence than knowing Lorne thought I could do it,” he says.
“Lorne” is “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels, who suggested that Meyers, 40, take over the timeslot that was being vacated by Jimmy Fallon when the latter became the new “Tonight Show” host.
“I was really shocked when they asked me to do this,” Meyers says.
Sitting in his 30 Rock office overlooking the Rockefeller Center skating rink, the casually dressed Meyers is the picture of equanimity. He’s had time to settle into his new role — the announcement was made last May — and he has been doing test shows before Monday night’s 12:35 a.m. premiere with “favor-based” guests such as “Today” co-hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb and filmmaker Brian Koppleman (“Solitary Man”).
Meyers found his background in improv came in handy during these test segments. “When you’re talking to people in an interview setting, the key to being a good improviser is being a good listener,” he says. “The stuff that’s been the most fun is based on what you say based on what they’re telling you — as opposed to the stuff you had ready in your back pocket.”
One of the reasons Meyers seems so at ease is because 30 Rock has been his home since 2001, when the Northwestern graduate joined the cast of “SNL.”
“Let’s not forget this is one of the great buildings of the country. You feel like you’re walking into old television, old radio,” he says. “It’s a very inspiring place to call home.”
Meyers rose quickly through the ranks at “SNL.” Over a two-year period, he went from writing supervisor to head writer to “Weekend Update” co-anchor with his good friend — and first “Late Night” guest — Amy Poehler. He anchored the segment by himself fo or five years; the combination of his effort less charm, rapier wit and beguiling twinkle e in his blue eyes was a good indication he was destined for bigger and better things.
Now he’s at the precipi ice, the moment when it either works or it t doesn’t. Still, Meyers is willing to take the lo ong view. “The best advice I’ve received is Jim mmy [Fallon] just reminding me that this jo ob is a marathon, not a sprint,” he says. “Yo ou have to go in with a sense of what you want this show to be and not over-course-correctc based on how the first few [shows] ] go. With ‘SNL,’ you do a show and you sp pend a long time looking back on what you u liked and what you didn’t like,” he says. “I think that here, you do that every week asa opposed to every show.
“Lorne has come to the e first two test shows and come back aft terwards. He’s a great resource that way,” Meyers adds. “He’s been through this before.”b
The advantages of the careerc shift are incalculable, while the be enefit to his personal life is very conc rete. Last year, Meyers married Alexi As she, a human rights lawyer. With his ne ew schedule, he’s home every night at 8:30. He and his wife get to go out on dates.d “Last week we went on six date es. We were like the montage of a rom mantic comedy,” he says, smiling. “WeW were like Broadway, Knicks game, dinners.d It was great.”
The Meyers' will even have time now to start a family. “My y wife and I are lucky to both co ome from great families and we cer rtainly want to have our own,” heh says.
And he will have Poehl ler by his side to help him get his late-nigght career off the ground. “Having Amy on iss like having the national anthem beforee the game starts,” he says. “It was important tot have her on first, mostly for comfort butt also because . . . I would have never hadd a show like this if I wasn’t lucky enough too work with her.”
Meyers’ first week will also inclu ude Vice President Joe Biden and Kanye We est, and actors Patrick Stewart and Ian McK Kellen. Meyers' staff includes former “SNL L” writer Alex Baze, and one of his more offb fbeat selections was choosing former “S SNL” coleague and “Portlandia” star Fred d Armisen as his band leader. “We had explored a couple of options, b ut hadn’t been able to settl le on anything, and d we were talking to L Lorne about it. A And he said, ‘Wha at about Fred?’ ”
With M Michaels working bbehindthe-scenees, Meyers could nott be in a better plaace. To his credit, hhe’s smart and hummble enoughh to know it.
“It’s sstill a stressfuul transition, annd you want too do a good joob, and I keep thiinking how muuch harder or streessed out I wouuld be if it wwere in a diffferent building or a diffferent cityy,” he says.
“I’ve known this NBBC family forr a long timme. I’ve knnown Loorne for a lonng time. With that comees a nice shorthand.””