“Ella came to the set with me a lot over the years. I have pictures of her in the Melania wig when she’s, like, 18 months old. All kids go through major separation anxiety, but there was one fitting we had where she literally wouldn’t let me put her down, and so they just fit me into my Melania costume while I was holding her. It was pretty sad to do the last one, but also so special. My parents were there, my husband was there, Ella was there, and my now almost four-year-old was there. It’s really a family there. They became part of my family.”
Judd Apatow (seven-time guest, fellow Northwestern dad)
“Coming into The Late Show, I was such a fan. I thought that The Colbert Report was so ingenious and hilarious every night and ridiculously consistent. I was upset that it was going away, but I was also fascinated to know what he would do with the Late Show format, because I always had this feeling that as wonderful as the show is, this is a man who should have the opportunity to do so many different things with his creativity.
“It’s just a very warm space. I know Stephen a little bit outside of the show, but our kids went to college at the same time at Northwestern, so the day we dropped them off, we all had dinner together, and that felt very special. It couldn’t be more emotional because you’re in the middle of a nervous breakdown. You’re truly melting down and trying to appear like you’re not. Everyone’s hiding the fact they just want to cry the whole time, and then that crying only lasts for like three years.”
Dominic Monaghan (two-time guest, former hobbit)
“The thing that stands out for me with that was that he was genuinely mystified that The Lord of the Rings wasn’t being given the same treatment as, let’s say, Harry Potter seemed to be that year. He took it as a personal affront.
“The four hobbits flew out to New York, and we caught a show. We asked Stephen where we should go for dinner. There was a restaurant that I think is pretty hard to get into, but Stephen said, ‘Listen, we obviously have a little bit of sway over here on the show, so let us make a few phone calls.’
“We managed to get into this very classy, bougie restaurant, and Billy [Boyd, who played Peregrin “Pippin” Took in the LOTR trilogy] had forgotten his reading glasses. The waiter must have overheard us, so he came over and he had a drawer of reading glasses for Billy to pick from. I think myself and Billy both assumed this would be to look at the menu and give back, but the waiter was like, ‘No, no, those are yours to keep.’ So we walked away with a pair of reading glasses. I think we as a cast all loved the fact that Stephen was so clearly on our side fighting for us. He really wanted us to feel that it was a special experience, and we were treated like kings.”
