# Stephen Colbert taking over for Letterman **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 18, 2014, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-taking-over-for-letterman/701731 "2014-10-18T19:01:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-taking-over-for-letterman/701731/21 "2014-10-19T03:28:55Z")
> [@JesterX](#): > > How? The guy spent a whole segment last week bashing Google for getting his height wrong. Well that’s just silly. You are sure he’s vain in real life because he acted vain on the show. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-taking-over-for-letterman/701731/22 "2014-10-19T04:37:27Z")
For the comments about Colbert being full off himself…I heard an interview on NPR with him, and he was completely out of character. He came across as polite and humble. He referred to the character in the third person. I was actually pleasantly surprised. I expected Colbert to be the type of guy who is always in character, because that’s his public persona. Turns out not to be true. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-taking-over-for-letterman/701731/23 "2014-10-19T05:30:27Z")
> [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](#): > > For the comments about Colbert being full off himself…I heard an interview on NPR with him, and he was completely out of character. He came across as polite and humble. He referred to the character in the third person. > > I was actually pleasantly surprised. I expected Colbert to be the type of guy who is always in character, because that’s his public persona. Turns out not to be true. Yeah, I saw him on a news show (20/20 or something like that) and got the same impression. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-taking-over-for-letterman/701731/24 "2014-10-19T05:47:01Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Again. The character Stephen Colbert plays on _The Colbert Report_ is a character. He is not Stephen Colbert. My worst nightmare (of the next five minutes) is that this blinkered confusion is actually representative of a large number of Americans. I think this is one of the highest compliments an actor can receive. They’re so good at playing their role, people actually believe they’re real. I remember seeing an interview with one lady (can’t remember whom at the moment) that played a bad woman on TV. she said was constantly getting stopped by strangers just so they could tell her what a bitch she was. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-taking-over-for-letterman/701731/25 "2014-10-19T05:53:58Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > I think this is one of the highest compliments an actor can receive. They’re so good at playing their role, people actually believe they’re real. Kind of surprised people think that about Colbert, though. I like him, but sticking to a bit is not really his strong point. He’s can never keep a straight face, and he falls out of character all the time, especially in non-scripted bits. And even when he’s in character, he spends half the time winking at the audience. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-taking-over-for-letterman/701731/26 "2014-10-19T11:06:31Z")
> [@JesterX](#): > > How? The guy spent a whole segment last week bashing Google for getting his height wrong. You do realize you’ve been whooshed…? :smack: Dude, embrace the Funny. ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-taking-over-for-letterman/701731/27 "2014-10-19T13:23:43Z")
I’ve read interviews where he’s expressed his frustration with the limitations of his interview format. He said he usually has to veer towards a joke involving his persona, when a lot of the time he just wants to ask the person more about what they’re speaking of. I think we’re going to see substantial changes in his interviewing style. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-taking-over-for-letterman/701731/28 "2014-10-20T00:55:25Z")
> [@JesterX](#): > > Could anyone ever tell what Carson’s political leanings were? He was a little before my time but I don’t think I ever knew. While there was probably still a lot of political polarization in his day, I doubt if it was as open as it is today. Reasonably liberal. They are pretty clear in his Playboy interview. Funny was most important, though - he said in the interview that saying on his show “get the hell out of Vietnam” wouldn’t work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-taking-over-for-letterman/701731.md?page=1)