James Corden is a man of many talents. He’s a Tony winning stage actor. He’s a 9-time Emmy winning late night host and TV producer. He’s appeared either as himself or in small roles in films like “Yesterday” and “The Lady in the Van”. And he’s starred in “Into the Woods”, “Begin Again”, “Ocean’s 8”, “Cats” and the criminally overlooked “One Chance”. It’s the film I complemented Corden on when I met him at the Critics Choice Awards in 2015 – just a few weeks before he would begin hosting “The Late Late Show” on CBS.
Since taking over the 12:35 slot on the network, Corden’s star has risen in America… especially in the animation and voice acting community. Prior to “LLS”, Corden voiced a minor role in 2009’s “Planet 51” and was heard in the sweet “Gruffalo” shorts.
But watching (and hearing) him every night on TV has allowed some of the biggest movie studios to select Corden to voice characters in recent, major features. It began with 2016’s “Trolls” from DreamWorks Animation, as Biggie. Next: 2017’s “The Emoji Movie” (trust me: it’s better than you think) from Sony Pictures Animation, as Hi-5.
Corden stuck with Sony to voice the title “Peter Rabbit” (released in 2018) and then headed over to Warner Bros. later that year for the role of Percy in “Smallfoot”.
Corden reprises Biggie for “Trolls World Tour” (on VOD and in select theaters next Friday April 10th). He has also already recorded his dialogue for “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” (now delayed to January) and “Superintelligence”, a Melissa McCarthy WB comedy originally slated for a theatrical release. It will now be debuting on HBO Max sometime this year.
It’s kind of amazing that Corden walked into a meeting at CBS with a sitcom pitch… and he walked out of it as the new host of “The Late Late Show”. I was impressed right out of the gate. I remember after watching his first episode thinking, “If every night is as good as that, it’s gonna be fantastic.” He’s now been a staple throughout this half decade with “Carpool Karaoke”, “Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts” and other various skits, sketches and surprises dominating TV airwaves, YouTube and social media.
When you break it all down: James Corden is one of the busiest guys… with one of the most recognizable voices… in entertainment.