LOS ANGELES _ James Corden never wanted to be a talk show host.
And yet, here he is becoming a superstar with "The Late Late Show" on CBS. Oh, and now he's adding host of the 59th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday to his list of gigs.
Corden, 38, is an actor by trade with screen, TV and stage credits dating back to 1997 in his native Great Britain. He came to Broadway in 2011 and won a Tony Award for his role in "One Man, Two Guvnors" in 2012. He became "The Late Late Show" host in 2015 _ after guaranteeing some artistic freedom.
"It was only really through realizing that this show could just be a creative platform where I could make whatever hour we wanted to make and we could do anything and we were actually bound by nothing. And that's when it becomes incredibly exciting," Corden says.
Corden's version of a talk show is heavy on comedy bits and musical performances. He combines the two for "Carpool Karaoke," the segment that has become so popular, it won a 2016 Emmy and is set to become a new series for Apple Music.
Corden credits the team around him for making "The Late Late Show" work so well and giving him room to take on other projects like the Grammy hosting job.
Lots of support is needed because the more work he gets, the better for Corden.
"I really, really consider being tired an honor and a privilege because my cousins are tired and they are bricklayers. And they are as tired, if not tireder than I am."
Looking at his job that way has made Corden realize that if he can't find enthusiasm for hosting a talk show or awards show then he sees no point in doing the job.
He says he challenges himself with three questions: "What else can we do? How can we make our show better every day? What's our next thing?"
His efforts have been so strong, the buzz in Hollywood is that Corden's show could move from 12:30 a.m. to the 11:30 p.m. time slot currently held by "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."
Corden denies hearing such talk. Besides, the time slot isn't that important to Corden because his approach is to make a talk show that can be seen and enjoyed no matter if it is seen live or on tape.
