James Corden
- In full:
- James Kimberley Corden
- Also Known As:
- James Kimberley Corden
- Awards And Honors:
- BAFTA (2008)
James Corden (born August 22, 1978, London, England) is a British comic actor, writer, and television personality known for his likability and self-deprecating humour. He first garnered attention for his stage and TV roles and later became host of The Late Late Show (2015–23).
Corden grew up in Buckinghamshire, where he attended the Jackie Palmer Stage School in High Wycombe with future Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne. In his autobiography, May I Have Your Attention, Please? (2011), Corden revealed that he had discovered his calling at age four when the congregation laughed as he misbehaved in church at his younger sister’s christening. His early TV work included recurring roles on Boyz Unlimited (1999), Teachers (2001–03), and Fat Friends (2000–05).
Corden’s big break came in 2004 when he was cast as the jokester Timms in Alan Bennett’s play The History Boys at the National Theatre. He remained with the play in 2006 as it toured to Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand and opened a Tony Award-winning run on Broadway. That same year he reprised his role in the play’s film adaptation. For his next project, Corden and actress Ruth Jones jointly created and wrote the romantic sitcom Gavin & Stacey (2007–10), with supporting roles for themselves as the main characters’ respective best friends. Corden won a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award in 2008 for his role as Gavin’s pal Smithy. He and Matthew Horne, who had portrayed Gavin, then wrote and starred in the limited-run sketch comedy Horne & Corden (2009). His noteworthy guest appearance in a 2010 episode of Doctor Who spurred the show’s producers to revive his character the following season. Corden later appeared in the 10-episode TV comedy thriller The Wrong Mans (2013–14), which garnered him a BAFTA nomination.
Corden returned to the stage in May 2011 with the National Theatre’s hit One Man, Two Guvnors, an English-language adaptation of the 18th-century Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni’s comedy Il servitore di due padroni. One Man, Two Guvnors—which featured physical comedy, improvisations, audience participation, and skiffle-style music—moved to the West End the following September and to Broadway in April 2012. The “ridiculously silly play” (as Corden called it) earned seven Tony nominations, and Corden emerged as the upset victor in the category of best actor in a play. He also continued to appear on-screen, and his notable later film credits include the 2014 film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Into the Woods and The Lady in the Van (2015).
In 2014 it was announced that Corden would take over as host of CBS TV’s The Late Late Show, replacing Craig Ferguson. Corden debuted the following year, and critics generally agreed that his venture into American late-night TV was a hit. The show combined traditional celebrity interviews and zany comedy skits, notably “carpool karaoke,” in which entertainers sang and answered questions while Corden drove them around. Other popular segments included “drop the mic,” in which Corden and a guest engage in a rap battle. After a successful eight-year run, Corden stepped down as the show’s host in 2023.
Hosting The Late Late Show significantly raised Corden’s profile in the United States, and, as a result, he was tapped to host both the Tony Award (2016 and 2019) and Grammy Award (2017 and 2018) ceremonies. He was also involved in various other TV programs, notably The World’s Best (2019), an international talent show that he hosted. In 2021 Corden also hosted Friends: The Reunion, a TV special featuring the cast of the popular sitcom.
Corden’s success as a TV host garnered him parts in such high-profile movies as Ocean’s 8 (2018). He also lent his voice to several popular animated films, including Trolls (2016) and its follow-up, Trolls World Tour (2020); The Emoji Movie (2017); Peter Rabbit (2018) and its sequel (2021); and Smallfoot (2018). In addition, he provided the voice of an artificial intelligence in the comedy Superintelligence (2020), starring Melissa McCarthy. In 2019 Corden appeared in Cats, a film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hugely successful stage musical. He later was cast in The Prom (2020), a musical in which a theatre troupe tries to help a lesbian teenager; his performance caused controversy, as some found his characterization of a gay actor offensive. In the miniseries Mammals (2022), Corden played a chef who learns that his wife is having an affair.
Corden was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2015.