FROM Adele to Prince Harry, Joe Biden to Michelle Obama and Tom Cruise to Paul McCartney, James Corden’s little black book reads like a Who’s Who of Hollywood.
Not too shabby for a “chubby guy” from High Wycombe.
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But after eight years in Los Angeles hosting one of America’s biggest late-night shows, the boy from Bucks is coming home.
In James’s only global interview, the star — whose face remains plastered on billboards across Tinseltown — turned down an eight-figure bonus to stay Stateside.
He said: “It was a lovely offer from my boss but staying for the money would be the wrong reason to do it. It’s important to change things up. In the process of exploring yourself, you have to continue going.
“Right now, there are a lot of unknowns. It just feels very strange — knowing everything is going to change but trying to hang on to the fact that change is fundamentally a good thing.
“I really hope I haven’t taken any of the last eight years for granted — I always knew it would end at some point.
“So many people say, ‘I am going to crack America’ and it doesn’t work out for them, and sometimes that has nothing to do with talent and ability. Your chances of success are only half-luck.
“I don’t know what I have done to deserve so many wonderful memories. Even if tonight’s show is my last day in employment anywhere, ever again, I have had an incredible run.
“I co-wrote and co-created a show [Gavin and Stacey] I am so proud of that achievement. That achievement makes me so happy.
“I worked on Broadway and national theatre twice. I had one summer in 2012 when I won the best actor award, I’ve been lucky enough to be in a couple of films I am very proud of, and worked with actors whose orbit I got to be in, and then I launched a late-night talk show.
“It is inconceivable to me. If you add it all up, it makes no sense.”
James Corden, the actor 44 who won Tonys and Baftas for his work, will be hosting the 1,200th episode of the Late Late Show tomorrow. The UK broadcast will be on Friday, 10.15pm.
James is credited for revolutionizing late-night television thanks to segments like Carpool Karaoke, Crosswalk the Musical and death-defying stunts with A-listers. He also has heartfelt monologues in front of the camera.
He has updated linear TV in an age where streaming is the norm by cleverly editing clips and uploading them online.
Framed outside his office, in the Late Late Show’s CBS studios, is a letter from YouTube’s CEO congratulating James on securing one billion views. The number of views has increased to an all-time high of 10.1billion since then.
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These figures are unprecedented and overwhelming.
Also, the Late Late Show was nominated and won seven Emmys.
The final episode features a Lion King cameo from Cruise, and an emotional Carpool Karaoke — which canny James owns the rights to — with Adele.
It is a song in which the singer thanks her best friend for helping her to get through her separation from Simon Konecki.
James reckons he will be a “blubbering mess” once the show airs — “but I will be really trying to keep it together though because I do not want to become a meme”.
James, who has been married for over ten years and is the proud father of three kids, returns to Britain to be with his family.
Then you’re a well-connected husband?
“Well, right now I don’t know what I am going to do,” he clarifies.
“I think I have to spend a little bit of time letting this all go. The past eight years have been noisy, so I will try to find some silence.
“The biggest thing for me at the moment is overseeing the move. Our children need us to be present.
“I can’t be travelling and leaving them. It will feel like a real departure for them, I’m aware of this and am doing my best to make the experience as pleasant as I can for them. Yes, I hope to have another story for you.
“I hope I can have one more idea that will mean a lot to people.”
As we both look up at his Diptyque candle pepped office TV, his West Ham team concedes a goal.
“This isn’t going to be a good interview,” he jokes (I think).
We both look at his phone as it bleeps twice. Up pops “Harry New”.
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Yep, it’s his mate in Montecito, Prince Harry. James must bat his hand at me as I, instinctively read the message.
“Oh God, wouldn’t you just love to see these,” he goads, snatching his iPhone away.
But he will not be drawn on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex because, he says not unreasonably, “it’s not fair”.
James is not immune to criticism on social networks, whether it’s about fairness or anything else.
Being a cheerful soul by nature, he does not want to draw attention to his hostility on social media. It is true that James deleted Twitter over two years back. James, in his real-life life has been determined to be as (relatively normal) as he can.
But he admits the “most LA thing” he’ll be bringing back to the UK is a meditation habit.
He said: “I try and do 20 minutes of silence and breathing. I whole-heartedly recommend it.”
He also readily admits to dabbling with therapy to aid his mental health, and credits his family and best mate, producer Ben Winston for keeping his feet firmly on the ground.
So how “normal” is he really? “Of course I’m normal — it would be really, really silly for me not to be,” he insists.
“You need to make a choice — you have to remain a person. I enjoy a little Sunday pottering and grocery shopping.
“I don’t know what there is to be afraid of because people are so lovely. My life has been like a picnic in every aspect. Every single inch of my last eight years has been amazing — I just feel so incredibly lucky.”
Luck is not a factor. He co-wrote, with Ruth Jones, the hit BBC show Gavin and Stacey.
It is still a common sight for people to stop him on the street and ask about Smithy. Will there be another series of this award-winning drama comedy?
James smiles and says: “In truth, Ruth and I met up at Christmas. And I know it will be a disappointment, but we didn’t talk about it in life-growing forms.
“It is whether we decide to get into a room together and honestly I could not tell you what the chances are of that. We both have to be ready and right.”
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For now, though, he’s clearly just itching to start the next adventure — a return to his home country.
He smiles: “I am excited to be at home, excited to embrace this island I think is magnificent. You want to say to some people, ‘I wish you could see this place from a distance and what it has got to offer and how special and beautiful it is’ — a country that hits pots and pans at the same time. This is an amazing country. It’s beautiful, but it has flaws and complexities.
“But when I see it from a distance, it just shines out to me as the most special place you could wish to be.”
James, welcome home!