Stephen Colbert opens up about being ‘wildly attracted’ to Michelle Williams
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Television host Stephen Colbert shared a candid behind-the-scenes revelation about one of his most memorable late-night guests, actress Michelle Williams, during the 'Strike Force Five' podcast reunion episode on Wednesday, May 13.
Colbert admitted that Williams' first appearance on 'The Late Show' left him unexpectedly overwhelmed, describing himself as "wildly attracted" to the actress. His comments came during a conversation with fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver as they reflected on unforgettable celebrity encounters and awkward interview moments.
Stephen Colbert says Michelle Williams left him flustered during interview
The 'Late Show' host revealed that Williams became one of the few celebrities who genuinely left him flustered during an interview. Recalling her first appearance on the show in 2016, Colbert admitted he was caught completely off guard.
"I'll tell you who I did not expect to be wildly attracted to," Colbert confessed.
"I didn't know what to do with myself. Because I like this person's work, but I never thought of them as a bombshell. I did not know what to do with my eyeballs when Michelle Williams was on for the first time."
Colbert continued reflecting on the interview and said Williams' presence immediately threw him off balance.
"She sat down across from me, and I went, what is wrong with my head? I'd better not look directly at her for this entire interview!" he explained.
The longtime host, who has been married to film producer Evelyn Colbert since 1993, added that it was not just Williams' appearance that stood out to him.
"It was something about her vibe, her face, everything. She's so beautiful," he said.
However, Williams was not the only Oscar-nominated actress Colbert admitted left him nervous during interviews over the years.
"I used to have a Rachel Weisz problem. I've recovered,” Colbert joked.
"When Rachel Weisz would be on 'The Daily Show,' I would leave the building for fear that I would say something stupid. I was afraid I would go 'hi,'" Colbert mimicked himself in a high-pitched voice, "you were great in 'The Constant Gardener.'"
Stephen Colbert recalls knowing Evelyn would become his wife
Despite joking about celebrity crushes, Colbert made it clear that no one compares to his wife, Evelyn Colbert. The television host previously recalled meeting her while waiting in line at a movie theater in 1990, a story he shared during a 2019 episode of 'The Late Show.'
After spending hours talking to her that night, Colbert said he immediately knew she would become his wife.
"That's her. There's your wife. You're going to marry her," Colbert remembered thinking at the time.
He later added, "There is absolutely, bar none, no one who comes close [to Evelyn]. And the most harrowing idea would be that I would spend any part of my life without her because that would be a level of loneliness and irreplaceable, irredeemable emotional desolation that I could not possibly contemplate.”
During an appearance on SiriusXM's 'Andy Cohen Live,' the couple also reflected on their earliest impressions of each other after more than 30 years of marriage.
"We met several times," Evelyn recalled.
"We did, yeah. The first couple times, it did not take," Stephen jokingly replied. "We first met in college. A friend introduced each other. A friend from Charleston introduced us at a party and I was chemically impaired and Evie was a distant frost queen on a mountain top."
When host Andy Cohen asked whether he was drawn to her reserved demeanor, Stephen admitted, "Not the first time. The first time, I was like, 'This is going nowhere.' Literally, I think it was a 30-second conversation.”
