Stephen Colbert, host of the Late Show, is the king of the late night ratings game and Louis C.K., hosting SNL tomorrow and with a new standup special available on Netflix, is undisputedly one of the most successful comedians in America.
But two decades ago, they were working together on the short-lived Dana Carvey Show, canceled after only seven episodes. C.K., who had been the head writer at only 26 years old, had hired a dream team of soon-to-be comedy luminaries: Charlie Kaufman, Steve Carrell, Robert Carlock, and a young Stephen Colbert, who, as C.K. describes years later, came across as an alien.
Now riding the peaks of their respective careers, this interview is impossibly tender and nostalgic, and one of my favorites Colbert has ever done. And for someone who has made his career on stage casually confessing the worst aspects of his character, Louis C.K. has never felt more human than when he talks about being young, and being afraid, and needing Stephen Colbert to make him laugh.
