James Corden announced his retirement from hosting his popular late-night talk show in 2022. Corden took on hosting duties on The Late Late Show from previous host Craig Ferguson in 2014 and his tenure ran from 2015 to 2023. He had a very successful 8-year run on the show. Following his retirement, Corden and his family moved to the UK.
In a recent appearance on a talk show, he reflected on his time as host and the various adjustments he had to make after his retirement. He also recounted his experience with many British people he met who thought that he was fired from the show, and wouldn’t believe otherwise.
People Assumed James Corden Was Fired From His Late Night Show
James Corden entertained audiences as the host of the Late Late Show for many years. Many A-list celebrity guests would come by and have a great time chatting with Corden as they promoted their films or other professional ventures. After 8 years of hosting the show, Corden announced his retirement in 2022 as he wanted to spend more time with his wife and children (via The Independent).
2023 would be his final year as host and he has since kept a low profile. Corden recently made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live where he and Kimmel did some catching up in the beginning. Corden started to explain his adjustment process from an ‘institutionalized’ work environment that was professionally rewarding but proved to be bad for him after he retired.
It seems people were surprised by his sudden return to the UK after his retirement, as people thought he was fired from the show. Corden recalled hilarious encounters with people who did not believe that he retired from the show for his family and for his children to spend time with their grandparents. He said,
“You don’t understand how institutionalized you are. It’s extraordinary. But it’s like, you’re institutionalized in a world where you get a standing ovation at the end of every day. And that is — what I’ve realized — is it’s really bad for you. People are very nice … no one believes that I wasn’t fired.
I’ll be in a pub or something and people will be like … ‘So why’d you come back?’ and I’ll be like, ‘Oh, ’cause Max has finished sixth grade and we really wanted him to have a relationship with his grandparents,’ And people will honestly be like, ‘You don’t have to give me that bulls*it. It’s fine, mate. If you got fired, you got fired.’”
Corden looked extremely happy and did not seem to regret his departure from his show. He now has ample time to spend with his family, which he was not able to do previously because of his work. Although he admits to taking some time to readjust after retirement, he is in his happy place at the moment.
James Corden Was Initially Roped In For Brandan Fraser’s Role in The Whale
Brendan Fraser impressed everyone with one of his best onscreen performances in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale. He played an obese English teacher trying to mend his fractured relationship with his young daughter, for which he won an Oscar. However, it seems the film originally had a different actor and director.
In an appearance on The Howard Stern Show, former late-night host James Corden revealed that he was approached by director Tom Ford to star in the film a long time ago. He stated that the film had a completely different treatment and had an excellent script. However, Ford left the project and it failed to materialize. He said,
“It was a very long time ago and it was a completely different (movie). He sent me an email one day and he was like, ‘I think I’m going to direct this film and I want you to play this part. It was in every sense a heavy role and it is an extraordinary script. So, I was like, ‘Look, if you think I can do this, I will do it. But then Tom dropped out of the film for different reasons”
It would have been interesting to have seen how Corden would have played the role. We would now never know if he would have gotten an Oscar nomination/win like Fraser did with the role he was supposed to play. Fans can watch/rent The Whale on Apple TV+ and witness Fraser’s incredible performance in it.
