Martin Crook John Oliver, the comedian and “Daily Show†correspondent, fills in as its host starting June 10.For a little while on Thursday, while “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart†was on hiatus, John Oliver had the offices all to himself. In an otherwise deserted conference room on Manhattan’s West Side, Mr. Oliver, 36, the British-born comedian and “Daily Show†correspondent, was dressed casually and lounging beneath a giant National Geographic map of the world. Asked how he was doing, he replied, “I’m fine.†He paused. “I’m excited.†Another pause. “I’m nervous.â€
These were among the last moments that Mr. Oliver would have for quiet reflection before he takes Mr. Stewart’s chair as guest host of “The Daily Show†for a three-month span that begins on June 10. It’s a rare arrangement, and only one of a few times that this Comedy Central late-night series has put anyone else but him behind the desk (necessitated this time by the fact that Mr. Stewart is directing a movie over the summer).
For Mr. Oliver, who joined “The Daily Show†in 2006, this guest-hosting job is an honor, a career opportunity and, when he allows himself to acknowledge his feelings, no small source of anxiety either. He spoke about about preparing to fill in for Mr. Stewart and his continuing efforts to book Queen Elizabeth II as a guest. Here are edited remarks from that conversation.
What have you been doing in these final days before you take over as host?
I’m on an extremely strict physical workout regimen. I want to get ripped. I guess nothing in particular. Everything will fundamentally stay the same, in terms of the way that the show runs. Jon built it to operate in a certain process, so that process really has to stay. It’s like a Nascar driver giving keys to his car to a member of his pit crew. I fundamentally understand how the engine works â€" I just never have driven it that fast before.
How did Jon Stewart approach you about this?
He’d written this movie a while ago. We talked about what would happen if the money came through to make the movie. Then he called me up and said, “We’ve got the money â€" I’m going to shoot it this summer. Would you do it?†To which I guess the only answer is yes.
There was no hesitation?
I’ll do anything for him, whether it’s hosting this show or disposing of a body. I guess I was just happy it was the first of those two choices, and I wasn’t taking a trip to the East River under the cover of darkness. On the phone with him, I was saying, I’ll do it. It was only upon hanging up that my legs started to buckle. I thought, What have I just agreed to? But it was long enough away that it didn’t really seem real.
And now that it’s nearly here, are you feeling any different?
I’m British, so obviously I repress any powerful emotions of any kind in relation to anything. I don’t think it’s going to hit me until I sit down at the desk and the music starts. That’s probably where there will be a couple of seconds of panic.
Is there anything you’ve had to learn from Jon about running the show, as opposed to being a player on it?
I guess I’ve not learned anything about individual aspects of the show â€" I knew them. But in terms of how he’s able to oversee the writing and the production of what the script needs every day, that has been interesting. What he’s always told us is you want to make sure that the spine of the argument is in shape. You can write jokes at any point of the day. Jokes are not that hard to write, or they shouldn’t be when it is literally your job. It’s harder to shift the point of view of a headline later in the day. That’s the kind of thing you need to keep an eye on early. You’d think you’d come in early in the day and go, “What jokes should we tell?†And that’s not always the case.
Do you have supreme authority to decide what stays and what goes?
I definitely like the term “supreme authority.†It has a Kim Jong-un ring to it. It’s an intensely collaborative workplace. It’ll be about continuing that collaboration throughout the day. At some point, one person has to make a decision, so that will be the point at which the Supreme Leader, for three months shall he reign â€" that is when I’ll be that point man.
Will the voice of “The Daily Show†change when you’re its anchor?
The voice is going to change, in so far as words are going to be pronounced accurately. And there are going to be a lot more u’s on the prompter. I don’t want to see c-o-l-o-r on the prompter or there’s going to be hell to pay. I’ve been here seven years, so the voice of the show has moved into my DNA as well. I don’t know if it’s going to be particularly recognizable, other than there’s going to be a different face and a different sounding voice saying it.
I see that in your first week, you’ve got guests like Seth Rogen, Armando Iannucci and Fareed Zarakia. Are these people you chose?
Armando Iannucci is one of my heroes. As I was growing up, he was probably the most influential comic voice that I had. The only way I may be able to say thank you is to invite him on a television show, where we’re both one step removed from having to directly deal with each other on a human level. Hillary Kun, the guest booker, and I have been talking about who might be interesting to have come on and trying to get a balance of people. And trying to get the Queen.
How are those discussions coming along?
It’s early stages. Until I hear a hard [high-pitched Queen’s voice] “No,†then it’s going to be worth pursuing.
Have you looked at past instances in which other correspondents have guest-hosted the show?
There’s two instances. Once for each child that Jon has. I watched Rob Corddry host, and I think Colbert and Carell hosted together. I think that’s it. So it’s relatively uncharted territory. Next week, just before rehearsal I’ll probably run the previous day’s show, just for technical stuff. But otherwise, no, I’ll just dive in. There’s not going to be any practice guest interviews or anything. Seth Rogen is going to be the experimental bunny rabbit. Unfortunately for Seth Rogen he is going to be my first.
You do have interviewing skills.
But this is different, because all of my interview training is built around trying to take someone down. When you have, say, Seth Rogen in front of you, the point is not to destroy him and the construct of beliefs he’s built up over his lifetime. It’s going to be talking to him about his new movie. It will be nice just to have a broader conversation where jokes can occur, but the primary focus is to have an interesting interview. It’ll be nice to be nicer to people.
Maybe now you can get some of the guests who didn’t want to be on when Jon was hosting.
Or who think, “Yeah, I could steamroll him, no problem. I’m not going to get elegantly butchered by Jon Stewart, but I can definitely steamroll a Brit.†That would be a problem, if we end up having a series of political guests who will not speak to Jon â€" if he comes back and I say, “Guess what? We had Cheney, W. Bush and Palin in one week.†“How did they go?†“They seemed to have a great time.â€
Will there be any time during this three-month run when you can step back and evaluate how you’re doing?
We have two two-week breaks in that time. Those will be the times to pause and reflect on, “O.K., in what particular ways did I screw up?†Probably over the July 4 week, as those fireworks are going off, I’m going to be sitting in a darkened room, trying to work out what I just did.
Do you see this as a chance to prove your mettle as a late-night host, for some future day when Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert moves on, or perhaps when some other opportunity comes up?
I’ve never taken that kind of larger perspective look, partly because this show is such a sausage factory, that you are only concerned with the next day. I find it hard in my general life to think further than the week ahead. So I’ve not really taken any big-picture thought about it, other than survival. But I’ve never had a regular job till I moved here. So I still can’t imagine not working here. It really is just a process of trying to get each show on. You’re just trying think about Seth Rogen’s show, getting through to Fareed Zakaria at the end of the week.
