The Daily Telegraph has a long interview with Stephen Colbert — mostly speaking as himself, not the character he plays at 11:30 — “The Second Most Powerful Idiot In America.” I found this part interesting, explaining how the show sets up its interviews:
Another obvious transatlantic comparison, at least in terms of Colbert’s reality-warping interview technique, would be Ali G, but although Colbert Report head-writer Rich Dahm is an Ali G Show veteran, Colbert points out that there is a clear difference between the two: The Colbert Report does not ambush its interviewees. ‘Everybody knows what they’re in for with me,’ says Colbert. ‘I say exactly the same thing to everyone before the interview: “I’m not an assassin. I do the show in character – and he’s an idiot; he’s wilfully ignorant of everything we’re going to talk about. Disabuse me of my ignorance. Don’t let me put words in your mouth”.’