Stephen Colbert (character)


 * This article is about Stephen Colbert, the character. For the actor that portrays him, see Stephen Colbert.



Stephen Colbert is a fictional character portrayed on The Colbert Report and The Daily Show by real-life comedian Stephen Colbert.

It is sometimes implied that Stephen was much less of a "square" when he was younger, including numerous passing references to having first-hand familiarity with recreational drugs such as opiates, marijuana and cocaine as well as a reference to a wild back-packing tour across Europe.

Biography
Most of the biographical details of the "real" Colbert are generally also used for the fictional one. Colbert mentions being born in South Carolina, being married, and having three children. The Colbert character also claimed to have been in the United States Marine Corps until called on this lie, and corrected that he was part of a "core" crew of employees at a marina (the "marina core"). This was all a reference to Bill O'Reilly's claim to have been "in combat."

Colbert is frequently shown to have worked in journalism for a long time. Occasionally footage is shown of him as a "young man" (usually with a thick mustache and highly stereotypical 1970s fashions) working an anchor at a local news station in Patterson Springs, North Carolina, still displaying his trademark outrage over minor municipal issues in the manner of ABC correspondent John Stossel. It appears that in the fictional reality of the Colbert Report, Kevin Spacey performs the acting roles that the real Colbert has done, such as Chuck Noblet in Strangers With Candy.

Colbert jokingly claimed that, in the 1980s, he was briefly part of an ABC-like new wave band called "Stephen and the Colberts," of which he was apparently the only member. The band's only song to date is entitled "Charlene (I'm Right Behind You)" in which Colbert stalks the woman (lyrics include "I think of you, when I dream of you, when I'm takin' pictures of you! I think of you when I'm in a blimp looking down from up above you!"). The video for the song featured Colbert wearing makeup and sporting bad '80s hair while crooning on a rooftop and striking '80s video poses.

The Colbert character has a phobia of bears, which he refers to as "godless killing machines without a soul." In his interview with Gross, Colbert said that his character's fear of bears is based on his real life childhood nightmare of bears mauling him in his sleep.

He also has a morbid fear of Helen Thomas spawned from Colbert's drive to be named White House press secretary. In the "audition video" (Complete Clip Links Part 1/Part 2), Colbert first tries to answer, then dodge, and futilely attempts to escape Thomas' line of questioning all the way to New York City. This is invoked a few months later during the daily "link" with Jon Stewart after the latter's interview with Thomas, leading to a shriek of horror from Colbert.

Although Colbert claims not to read and to dislike books, he is the author of Alpha Squad 7: Lady Nocturne: A Tek Jansen Adventure, a parody of a Mary Sue science fiction novel from which he occasionally reads excerpts. This is likely a reference to O’Reilly’s detective novel, Those Who Trespass. Comedy Central has announced that Oni Press will publish a comic book adaptation of the Tek Jansen novel.

Personality
In the show, Stephen Colbert assumes the role of, as he has explained in out-of-character interviews, a "poorly informed, high-status idiot", a parody of pundit show hosts found on American cable television news, in particular Bill O'Reilly, but also with influences from Joe Scarborough and Sean Hannity. Colbert has said the essence of what he felt the need to mock is summed up in a rule Scarborough claimed to adhere to: that he isn't doing his job if he lets his guest speak for more than seven seconds at a time without interruption.

Colbert claims to be a staunch Republican, yet he appears to hold more liberal opinions. He almost always claims to agree with all actions and decisions of George W. Bush and the Republican party, although when speaking about Bush, Colbert "inadvertently" insults and demeans him. He also contradicts himself by advocating a certain policy or claiming that a certain untrue "fact" is true, and in the same sentence, proving the policy to be ineffective or the "fact" to be untrue. It is clear that the real Stephen Colbert is doing these things on purpose, but that the character is unaware.

Colbert has said he also wants to capture some of the "folksiness" and love of his own monologue allegedly portrayed by former CNN anchor Aaron Brown. When radio host Terry Gross interviewed Colbert on NPR's Fresh Air, Colbert also cited Stone Phillips, his first guest, as a major influence on his character, for his command of "gravitas."

Overall, the routine of the character Colbert assumes in the show is centered on egomania and reducing complex world affairs into ludicrously simplified soundbites or arbitrary conclusions, to humorous effect. In the premiere episode, Colbert denied that the show was all about him — even while simultaneously pointing out that his name appears all over the studio set and that his desk is shaped like a giant "C."

There is a running subtext to the character that Colbert might be a closet homosexual. "The Word" frequently makes comments, and Colbert has mentioned that he often thinks about being gay, that homosexual encounters while young might "mistakenly" happen, and that "men know what men want."

Despite his bravado, the Colbert character is also rather high-strung and tends to panic whenever something violates his world view - such as on those rare occasions when George W. Bush does something he disapproves of. A running gag has him stalking an ex-girlfriend (and, seemingly, cousin), Charlene.