Stephen Colbert Says Bill Hader’s ‘SNL’ Exit Reflects His Career Pivot to Writing ‘Lord of the Rings’ Movie: ‘Just Do Something You Love’

> Asked by co-hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes about what he will do when he leaves the desk at the Ed Sullivan Theater, Colbert kept mum on the specifics, but said, “I’ll tell you, the person who did the thing I most admire — I mean, not most admire, but the thing that really struck me is, you know what [Bill] Hader did when he left ‘SNL’? He went and wrote for ‘South Park’ for a season.”

> “I said, ‘Man, that’s the perfect thing to do.’ Just go serve something that you love already,” Colbert said. “See, can I be of service to people whose work I really admire? I thought that’s a great thing to do. Don’t even worry about your status of your previous gig. Just go do something you love.”

I’m glad Stephen is finding happiness. I can only imagine how fucking *stoked* he is to do a LotR project considering what a nerd he is.

That said, I hope he eventually finds an outlet for some type of political comedy. I loved the Report so much. It genuinely helped me navigate politics as a teenager when I grew up in an area that was just programmed to be Republican in a funny but enlightening way. He was a good role model, someone that was a good person but made me think and question things, as well as laugh. I enjoyed The Late Show for what it was but never hit hard enough or felt like ‘can’t miss’ TV quite like the Report.