Ring of truthiness

Not one to shy away from self-serving pomp and circumstance, The Colbert Report ventures into Christmas-special territory with A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! Sunday 23. The hour-long satire takes on the “war on Christmas”—a perceived trend toward PC greetings like “Happy Holidays”—and welcomes the musical talents of John Legend, Elvis Costello and Feist, among others. We snagged a few minutes with the former Daily Show correspondent.

Why do a Christmas special now?
It’s been hard the past few months because the news cycle’s been so fast. We’ve been sort of strapped to the horse of the news. One thing I knew I could say is that after the election, politics will be way less important. So I wanted to do something this year that was essentially apolitical. Something that was fun and silly and related to the show in terms of character but completely different in terms of subject matter. Everyone wants a palate cleanser after the election.

How much of it is you wanting to comment on the war on Christmas, and how much is responsibility?
That’s always the tricky part of an interview. Are you talking to me or are you talking to my character?

You, Stephen Colbert the person.
No. My character does, but I feel no responsibility anytime for anything as myself. Here’s my responsibility: Let’s see if there’s a new way to construct this joke or to talk about something that I care about. One of the things I like about the special is, in terms of responsibility, I didn’t want to be cynical or unnecessarily blasphemous in any way. I mean it to be sincerely strange, but also strangely sincere. It’s meant to be a real Christmas special through the lens of my character’s ego.

What seems to be the assumption of interviewers, as to which Colbert they’re talking to?
There’s no common pattern. But sometimes I see they are asking the character a question and I always like to make sure I know how I’m answering. Because, you know, he’s got my name and it’s easy to confuse. I always want to be clear: When I leave the studio, generally speaking, I leave the character behind. Out of context, he doesn’t really work.

Do you lose anything, spending your career as a satirical character?
Do I lose anything? I don’t know what I would lose. Give me an example and I’ll tell you if I lose it.

Uh…getting other acting roles, the ability to say what you really mean on the show—
No, no. Sometimes I do actually say what I feel, but the audience just doesn’t know it.

I was surprised you were able to get so many celebrities—
Oh, really! Oh, really, Steve? You’re surprised? Well listen, thanks for calling—

No, no. I was going to say, I was surprised so many played along. Especially Toby Keith—is he aware his song is completely ironic?
He has a sense of humor, yes. Toby’s been great. I mean I’m honored that they would all want to do it. And on some level I’m surprised too. When I get to harmonize Toby and Feist and John Legend and Elvis Costello…it’s so funny that few people understand: I just don’t know what to do with myself, I’m so happy.

In the special, you perform a duet with Jon Stewart. How has your relationship with him changed over the last three years, flying solo?
Well, he still remains a mentor for me. Friday I asked him over to talk about how I should fashion my objectives for the show. Little things like…How do I manage [an] organization like this? How do I express my vision to people? Or how do I deal with the constant needs of the schedule. He’s unbelievably generous. I can’t say enough good things about him. Well, I guess I can, because I’m done now.

What’s The Colbert Report Christmas party like?
Have you ever seen that movie, Caligula? Put a lot of mistletoe and holly in unlikely places and there you have it.

What do your kids want for Christmas this year?
Oh, the Nerf guns are very, very big. There are some amazing Nerf guns these days. Nerf’s really found its niche, and it’s violence. I was hoping the Christmas special was gonna be sponsored by something really inappropriate or violent, because I wanted to do really intrusive advertising, like [monster truck announcer voice] “Bloodsport 8: This year let the blood rain down on you—The Colbert Report Christmas special!” But I’m pretty happy it’s gonna be Axe body wash, which is pretty damn inappropriate. [Same voice] “Smell like an elf, rub it on your jingleballs.”

Unwrap A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! Sun 23 at 9pm on Comedy Central or on DVD Tue 25 ($19.99).