Hey, what do you know? Turns out people will put up with just about anything, if only you just warn 'em first.
Does it scare Colbert that a fake person can be taken so seriously?
"It does not scare me at all because I don't take myself seriously," he says. "My character wants to do these things. We're making jokes. We never stop making jokes."
On camera, his devotion to staying in character is total, but off- camera he's himself: intelligent, relaxed and quick to laugh. Before taping episodes, he asks the studio audience if anyone has any questions "to humanize me before I say horrible things." He begins every interview by telling his guest that his character is "an idiot" and to "disabuse me of my ignorance."