Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ exit marks the death of the good celebrity interview

**From Business Insider’s Callie Ahlgrim:**
Andrew Garfield was trying to promote his new movie when Stephen Colbert made him cry on national television.

Garfield had ostensibly joined “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in 2021 to discuss his Netflix musical, “Tick, Tick… Boom!” He began by hitting all the usual talking points: his preparation for the role, his dynamic with the film’s director, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and the tunes he was tasked with singing onscreen.

Colbert gamely bantered with the actor, drawing out goofy anecdotes, an impromptu a capella performance, and, of course, plenty of laughs from the audience.

Then, as their conversation neared its scheduled close, Colbert changed tack. Rather than pushing for a punchline, the host asked Garfield to reflect on his mother’s recent death from pancreatic cancer.

Garfield was visibly moved by the question, delivering a tender and, crucially, uninterrupted monologue on his mother’s life as an “unfinished song.”

“I hope this grief stays with me,” he told Colbert, tears pooling in his eyes, “because it’s all the unexpressed love that I didn’t get to tell her.”

Nearly five years later, watching that now viral clip still chokes me up. It’s moments like these, steeped in sincerity and pathos, that set Colbert’s show apart in the late-night TV ecosystem. They’ll be sorely missed after Colbert takes his final bow on “The Late Show” Thursday night.

[Read more of Ahlgrim’s reflection on Colbert’s exit. ](https://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-colbert-late-show-last-episode-celebrity-interviews-2026-5?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=insider-entertainment-sub-post)