James Corden Goes Over to the Dark Side as ‘The Constituent’

Prior to seeing James Corden portray a disaffected ex-serviceman in Joe Penhall’s new play The Constituent at London’s Old Vic theater (to Aug. 10), the last time I saw him in person on stage was when he hosted the Grammy Awards in 2018. The affable Brit might conceivably have been having the time of his life—and generated respectful notices hosting music’s biggest night—but during the ad breaks he looked bored to tears, as though he was being made to attend a compulsory initiation ceremony for popular entertainers-in-training.

Contrast that to now when Corden is in his element returning to London theater (this reviewer saw the final preview of the play before opening night). Having relinquished helming CBS’s The Late Late Show just over a year ago, Corden is back on stage for the first time since 2012 and his riotous comedic turn on Broadway in One Man, Two Guvnors for which he improbably triumphed over Philip Seymour Hoffman, James Earl Jones, John Lithgow and Frank Langella to land a Best Actor Tony Award.

Despite The Late Late Show’s wildly popular Carpool Karaoke segment and his exploits skydiving with Tom Cruise, Corden hasn’t exactly been the subject of wide admiration in recent times. To paraphrase what Matthew Collings once said about art collector Charles Saatchi, the problem with James Corden is that nobody knows what the problem is. Is the problem his arrogance (epitomized by restaurateur Keith McNally notoriously banning him for a time from Manhattan bistro Balthazar for being rude to staff)? Or the sycophancy he shows towards other celebrities shown on TV and more recently on his podcasts? Has Corden overreached?

Read more at The Daily Beast.