His ‘Getting to know your district’ series, where he interviews the elected members of various districts in the House of Representatives, is pretty funny. Here Colbert talks to a Democratic member from Pennsylvania.
I am pretty certain that the congressional staffers prepare the member to expect Colbert to go weird on them but they still seem to be taken aback and put off-guard by his interviewing antics. I honestly do not know how you can prepare for him because he goes off on such strange tangents. While I am sure that Colbert prepares carefully for them, I also suspect that he is a master of improvisational comedy, where you go with the flow.
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(This clip appeared on April 25, 2013. To get suggestions on how to view clips of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report outside the US, please see this earlier post.)
I felt sorry for the poor guy — he spent the whole time looking like he was terrified waiting for the trap to be sprung, but walking right into it anyway.
I think if I was in this position, I’d try to toss him something funny and quirky to work with right from the start — like something about the crayons. That way you’d be more in charge of how things went.
I think the best approach is to treat whatever absurdity Colbert comes up with as though it WERE meant seriously, and respond in kind. When in doubt, let Monty Python be your guide.
I’ve often found some of his best interviews are with people that end up making him laugh -- his expressions too are pretty funny and make me think he appreciates someone going toe-to-toe with him. If I was in that position I’d brush up on my quips and try to make sure I was sharp, haha because you never know what he’s going to throw at you. But if you can keep up with him, that usually ends up being a good interview.