Stephen Colbert (character)

The Reverend Sir Dr. Stephen T. Mos Def Colbert D.F.A., Heavyweight Champion of the World, or Stephen Colbert, is the fictionalized persona of political satirist Stephen Colbert, as portrayed on the Comedy Central series '' The Daily Show'' and '' The Colbert Report'', and occasionally on '' The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' on CBS. Described as a "well-intentioned, poorly informed high-status idiot" and a "self-important right-wing commentator", the character incorporates aspects of the real Colbert's life and interests but is primarily a parody of cable news pundits, particularly former Fox News prime time host Bill O'Reilly.

Colbert first appeared as a correspondent on Comedy Central's news parody series '' The Daily Show'' in 1997 and remained a regular contributor until 2005, when he left to host ''The Colbert Report'', a spin-off show satirizing personality-driven political pundit programs. He has also been featured in a number of other public performances, most notably at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, and as the author of the books '' I Am America (And So Can You!)'', '' I Am a Pole (And So Can You!)'', and '' America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't''.

Colbert's performance attracted widespread critical attention and acclaim, with a reviewer writing for ''Time'' magazine calling it "one of the greatest sustained performances in pop culture, TV or otherwise".

On April 23, 2014, the character appeared on ''The Daily Show'' to announce that he had clearly "won television" and would be ending ''The Colbert Report'' because he had met his goal. This came after the real Colbert announced he would not be using the character when he replaced David Letterman as the host of '' Late Show'' on CBS in 2015. The final episode of ''The Colbert Report'' aired on December 18, 2014.

The character has made a few media appearances following the conclusion of ''The Colbert Report''. He made a cameo appearance in the '' House of Cards'' season three episode "Chapter 27", which was released on February 27, 2015. He returned for the August 6, 2015 episode of ''The Daily Show'' to honor Jon Stewart during his final episode as host of the series. He made an appearance on the July 18, 2016 episode of '' The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' to do a special segment of "The Wørd", during the show's coverage of the 2016 Republican National Convention.

Development and inspirations

''The Dana Carvey Show''

Colbert's earliest mainstream exposure came in the prime time sketch comedy program '' The Dana Carvey Show''. While only lasting seven episodes in early 1996, it provided Colbert with roles that would help forge his future onscreen persona. This was largely due to its format of delivering sketch performances directly to the camera. Although they did not air, several sketches inspired by ''The Onion'' also had Colbert playing a deadpan anchor delivering the news. In an interview with ''The New York Times'' regarding ''The Dana Carvey Show'', Colbert noted, "If you have an opportunity to give it right to the audience, there’s a special connection that you make by looking at the camera."

Upon the show's cancellation, Colbert was cast for '' The Daily Show'' by co-creator Madeleine Smithberg. This was thanks to his performance as a nauseated waiter on ''The Dana Carvey Show''.

''The Daily Show''

Colbert appeared as a correspondent on ''The Daily Show'' between 1997 and 2005. During this time, the comedian developed the character that would later form the basis for his ''Colbert Report'' persona, one that its creator calls a "fool who has spent a lot of his life playing not the fool". Colbert frequently cites Stone Phillips — whom he describes as having "the greatest neck in journalism" — as a source of inspiration for the character, as well as Geraldo Rivera, "because he's got this great sense of mission... He just thinks he's gonna change the world with this report". As a correspondent, Colbert was regularly pitted against knowledgeable interview subjects, fellow correspondent Steve Carell, or host Jon Stewart in scripted exchanges which typically revealed the character's lack of knowledge of whatever subject he was discussing. Other ''Daily Show'' correspondents have since adopted a similar style; former correspondent Rob Corddry recalls that when he and Ed Helms first joined the show's cast in 2002, they "just imitated Stephen Colbert for a year or two".

''The Colbert Report''

In 2005, Colbert left ''The Daily Show'' to host a spin-off series entitled ''The Colbert Report'', a parody of personality-driven political pundit programs such as Fox News's '' The O'Reilly Factor'' that center largely on the personal views of their hosts. Because of this enlarged role, the personality and beliefs of the Stephen Colbert character have become more clearly defined over the course of the show, complete with a fictitious backstory that has been revealed piecemeal in short monologues accompanying a part of the program.

The character Colbert portrays in ''Report'' originated as an amplification of his self-important ''Daily Show'' correspondent. As they developed the character and the show Colbert and his staff began to look at some more specific models. Bill O'Reilly, whom the character affectionately nicknames "Papa Bear", is the most commonly cited point of reference. In a 2006 episode of ''The Colbert Report'', Colbert remarked that, "if it wasn't for 'Reilly this show wouldn’t exist". In adapting the character for the ''Report'', Colbert has also mentioned Aaron Brown, Anderson Cooper, Sean Hannity, Lou Dobbs and Joe Scarborough as having an influence over his performance. References to the character's abuse of prescription drugs are believed to be an allusion to Rush Limbaugh's addiction to painkillers.

The nightly in-character guest interviews were initially of concern to Colbert, who worried his character's belligerent nature would be off-putting to guests. However, since the show's debut, he says he has found he is able to "slide the intensity" of his behavior depending on his interviewee's ability to respond to his aggressive approach. Colbert now often cites the interview segment as his favorite part of the show, because it allows him to improvise. Colbert advises his guests to disabuse the character of his ignorance. "Don't let me get away with anything. Don't try to play my game. Be real. Be passionate. Hold your ideas. Give me resistance. Give me traction I can work against."

Books

Colbert is the central character in the 2007 book '' I Am America (And So Can You!)''. Co-written with Paul Dinello and the writers of ''The Colbert Report'', ''I Am America'' delves into what the character considers to be the most pressing issues facing America. The book takes influence from the literary endeavors of the character's pundit models, such as O'Reilly's '' The O'Reilly Factor'' (2000) and Hannity's ''Deliver Us From Evil'' (2004), which Colbert says he "forced" himself to read as a reference. ''I Am America'' is considered a pure extension of the ''Report''; the written medium allowed the writers to employ different styles, such as long-format arguments, that they could not have used on television. "You can actually spend 20 pages talking about religion whereas in the show, two pages is about as long as we hold any one idea", Colbert explains. In doing this, the writers "discovered things that he charactercared about that... they didn't know he cared about before".

A character similar to Colbert's ''Daily Show'' persona featured in the 2003 book '' Wigfield: The Can Do Town That Just May Not'' by Colbert, Dinello and Amy Sedaris. Russell Hokes, a self-aggrandizing journalist, was voiced by Colbert in both stage performances of the text and the audiobook. Colbert likens Hokes to his self-important correspondent character, but "more extreme, more self-involved".

Non-fictional elements

Certain elements of the character are drawn from the real Colbert's personal life. Both the real Colbert and the character were raised in Charleston, South Carolina; both are the youngest of 11 children; both played ''Dungeons & Dragons'' as teenagers; and both are practicing Roman Catholics. Colbert's own interest in and knowledge of religion, science fiction, and J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'' story will often show through in the ''Report''. His character has a chocolate portrait of Viggo Mortensen (who portrayed Aragorn in Peter Jackson's ''The Lord of the Rings'' films) in a place of honor on his shelf; Mortensen briefly reprised the role of Aragorn in the ''Report''s September 13, 2007 episode.Ken P (August 11, 2003)
An Interview With Stephen Colbert
. '' IGN''. Retrieved on August 15, 2007. He also owns a Sting sword presented to him by Peter Jackson.

Occasionally, Colbert mentioned his real-life siblings on the show. In one episode, he placed his brother Ed, a lawyer who advises the International Olympic Committee, "on notice" for refusing to grant the show the rights to air footage of a dispute between two American speed skaters. Ed later appeared at the start of the February 22, 2010 edition advising Stephen on how to cover the Vancouver Winter Olympics since his character does not have the television rights to the games. Footage from the Richmond Olympic Oval was used after Stephen was named a special advisor to USA Speedskating. Generally, journalists covering the Olympics do not have access to the venues unless their employer has the rights to Olympic TV coverage, and cannot show moving video coverage of any official Olympic event unless they have permission from the rights holder. When his sister Elizabeth Colbert Busch declared her intention to run for Congress, he mentioned the event. Later, when she was nominated to run against Mark Sanford and the MSNBC show '' Morning Joe'' declared their support for Sanford and mentioned Colbert, he defended his sister's campaign.

In an appearance at Harvard University in 2006, Colbert revealed that his character's fear of bears was in part inspired by a recurring nightmare he has had, in which a bear is standing between him and his goal. The character's phobia, which was initially referenced in the show's first "ThreatDown" skit, was originally slated to be a fear of alligators. By the time the ''Report'' went to air, the alligator story was several weeks old, and the writers chose to use a more recent news item involving a bear in its place.Colbert, Stephen (October 16, 2007)
"Meet the Author" podcast
Retrieved on October 27, 2007.

After Colbert received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from Knox College, the show began listing his name in the ending credits as "Dr. Stephen T. Colbert, D.F.A." even though using both the honorific prefix and post-nominal letters is incorrect. During the show, the character will sometimes refer to the degree and the qualifications he mistakenly believes it bestows upon him.

In May 2007, Colbert was voted the "second most influential person in the world" by a ''Time'' magazine online poll. The first spot was taken by Rain, a young Korean pop star with a large following in Asia and the United States. Colbert then declared Rain his " arch-nemesis" and began mentioning him frequently on the ''Report''. Colbert filmed a satirical music video poking fun at Rain's popular single "How to Avoid the Sun" and referencing several stereotypical South Korean dishes and products. The one-sided feud eventually culminated in Colbert challenging Rain to a competition on air. After telling Colbert "not to quit his day job", Rain appeared in a short segment on the show and competed (and won) a ''DDR'' dance-off with Colbert. Both have been defeated by Shigeru Miyamoto in recent polls, though they still continue to be strong contenders .

On June 21, 2007, Colbert broke his left wrist on the set of the ''Report'' while performing his warm-up for the show. This quickly became a regular source of comedy on the show as the self-absorbed character requested his audience send flowers, launched a campaign against Hollywood's supposed glorification of "wrist violence", and began a "wrist awareness" campaign with " WristStrong" silicone bracelets. On August 23, 2007, the cast was removed on air and was put up for auction to the general public, complete with celebrity signatures, on eBay, where it achieved a winning bid of $17,200. All of the proceeds from both the cast and the bracelets were donated to the Yellow Ribbon Fund.

In an interview with ''The Buffalo News'', Colbert said "The weird thing about my character, even on the show, is sometimes I say what I mean. It doesn't matter to me that the audience doesn't know when that is."

On June 19, 2013, Colbert returned from an unplanned break of several days following the passing of his 92-year-old mother, Lorna Colbert. The emotional Colbert started the show with a tribute to his mother, in which he presented a brief biography of her life in photos, accompanied by his eulogy of her.

Titles and styling

The titles and styling of ''Her Excellency The Rev. Sir Doctor Stephen Tyrone Mos Def Colbert, D.F.A., Heavyweight Champion of the World✱✱ featuring Flo Rida La Première Dame De France'' are mostly for comedic reasons. Colbert became an ordained minister on June 2, 2011, granting himself the title of Reverend. Colbert was mock-knighted by Queen Noor of Jordan on April 7, 2009, bestowing him with the title of Sir. He was granted an honorary doctorate of fine arts by Knox College in 2006, giving him the title of Doctor and use of the suffix D.F.A. ( Doctor of Fine Arts). This title was featured regularly during his segments ''Cheating Death with Dr. Stephen T. Colbert, DFA''. Yasiin Bey gave Colbert the use of his stage name Mos Def on October 5, 2011.

After Mike Tyson failed to appear in a scheduled interview with Colbert on July 23, 2013, Colbert declared himself Heavy Weight Champion of the World and granted himself use of the title. The large asterisk in the title is to denote that he did not defeat Tyson in a boxing match. The suffix featuring Flo Rida was added during the segment ''I tried to sign up for Obamacare'' on October 23, 2013, where his name on the ACA form said featuring Flo Rida. Her Excellency was added to the title as Colbert was seated next to Michelle Obama at the White House state dinner in February 2014, in which the President of France François Hollande was not accompanied by a partner. Because it is customary that the First Lady of a visiting nation is seated next to the First Lady of the United States, Colbert proclaimed himself First Lady of France on February 12, 2014.

Fictional biography

Colbert's fictional history is not always rigidly adhered to by the show's writers. The comedian himself says that, "My character's history may not always be perfectly consistent ... There's my bio and there's my character's bio, and then there's my character's history, which is slightly different than my character's bio." Dowd, Maureen (October 31, 2006)
America's Anchors
''Rolling Stone''. Retrieved on August 15, 2007. His early life, prior to becoming host of ''The Colbert Report'', is expanded upon in ''I Am America (And So Can You!)''.

Like the actor who portrays him, Stephen T. Colbert is the youngest of 11 children, born into a devout Roman Catholic family—the character's family was so devout, in fact, they sent their teenage son to an " exorcism day camp located in Canton, Ohio" when they discovered he liked ''Dungeons & Dragons''. In his in-character appearance on ''The O'Reilly Factor'', Colbert stated that he is of Irish descent and only adopted the French pronunciation of his surname to "get the cultural elites" on his side. Colbert has made conflicting statements regarding his middle name, which he has at different times stated to be Tyrone (Colbert's actual middle name), Tiberius (like that of Captain James T. Kirk), Lee-Harvey, and Qxyzzy.
The character has said he was regularly beaten up in high school, and by the time he left for college he was determined never to be a victim again. As such, on the first day of his freshman year he walked into class and punched the first person he saw (unfortunately, this happened to be his ethics professor).Colbert, Stephen (2007). '' I Am America (And So Can You!)''. New York: Grand Central Publishing. He attended Dartmouth College (instead of his first pick, Hogwarts, claiming that his white owl led them to reject him), and was a member of the ΣΑΕ fraternity, although his acceptance into the college appears to have been largely influenced by a claimed familial relationship with a wealthy donor, and graduated in the top 47 percent of his class with a major in history. He has also referred to Bob Jones University as an alma mater.

Prior to embarking on a career in journalism, Colbert worked as a carnival