Stephen Colbert has revealed the one guest he was most attracted to during his 11 years hosting The Late Show.
The departing late night host, 62, confessed he “didn’t know what to do with my eyeballs” when actor Michelle Williams appeared on the show.
Williams, 45, made her name on Dawson’s Creek before becoming an acclaimed film and television actor. She was first interviewed by Colbert in 2019 when promoting miniseries Fosse/Verdon. She returned last year to talk about the Golden Globe-winning series Dying for Sex.
During a recent episode of the Strike Force Five podcast, Colbert was asked by fellow late night host Jimmy Kimmel whether he’d ever been faced by a guest “so attractive that you found it distracting?”
Colbert responded: “I’ll tell you who I did not expect to be wildly attracted to. Like, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I did not know what to do with my eyeballs when Michelle Williams was on for the first time.”
He went on to say: “She sat down across from me and I went: ‘F***, what is wrong with my head? I’d better not look directly at her for this entire interview.’”
Colbert added that he finds Williams “so beautiful.”
The former Comedy Central star — whose long-running show is now just a week away from ending for good — was clearly in an amorous mood as he shared kisses with guests Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Pedro Pascal during Tuesday night’s episode.
That came after fellow talk show hosts Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, John Oliver and Seth Meyers appeared on The Late Show Monday and were collectively asked, “Have you guys ever made out with a guest on camera?”
Colbert went on to say that he’d shared on-screen kisses with Sally Field, Andrew Garfield, Helen Mirren, Allison Janney and Jeff Daniels during his time on the CBS program.
During her appearance Tuesday, Louis-Dreyfus reminded Colbert of the conversation and insinuated that she would like to join his list of kisses.
Pascal was next to sit on Colbert’s couch and immediately pointed to his lips before sharing a kiss with the host.
“I got jealous,” Pascal quipped, to which Colbert responded, “No need! Anytime. These lips will soon be free.”
It was announced last July that CBS would be canceling The Late Show in what the network described as “financial decision.”
The cancellation sparked speculation as it came shortly after Colbert criticized Paramount over its controversial $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump tied to a 60 Minutes lawsuit. Colbert called the settlement a “big fat bribe” because Paramount was simultaneously seeking federal approval for its merger with Skydance Media.
Meanwhile, CBS staffers told The Independent it was a continuation of the “Trump shakedown” that began with the settlement.
After departing The Late Show, Colbert’s next role will see him write a new Lord of the Rings film.
It was Peter Jackson who shared the surprise news in March with a video in which he and Colbert announced the project, currently titled The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past.
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