The British actor, comedian and some-time singer James Corden seems to be spreading his wings even further these days, as he is now attempting to conquer America in his latest venture as host on the major US chat show "The Late Late Show". The 36-year-old made his debut on the show last night, having taken over the reins from the Scottish-born Craig Ferguson, who had been the regular host of the CBS programme for the past ten years.
Initial reaction to his first outing seems to have been generally favourable, with a starry guest list including the Oscar winner Tom Hanks and Mila Kunis not seeming to faze him unduly.
Having presented light-entertainment knockabout shows in Britain before, such as A League of Their Own on Sky with the cricketer Freddie Flintoff and ex-footballer Jamie Redknapp as team captains, he is used to re-acting to guests as they do (often) highly unpredictable things during the filming. His presenter credentials have also been under the microscope when hosting the Brit Awards and the Sport Relief night in recent years.
Yet for all that, hosting a chat show across the pond is quite a different challenge for the affable Englishman, but the early signs seem promising, despite many wondering (including himself) how his jovial style will be received by the Americans.
Using social media afterwards, Corden tweeted: "Well, so many truly lovely messages about the show tonight. I'm blown away, thank you."
Being a relative unknown no doubt to most of his new American audience, he began the show by providing a brief resume in his own inimitable and tongue in cheek-style. After giving the viewers a potted background about himself, he also made it clear that he was married by quipping: "I'm married, sorry ladies, this ship has sailed."
To help the show to get off to the best possible start, a number of leading Celebrities such as Simon Cowell, Meryl Streep, Jay Leno and even Arnold Schwarzenegger (who demonstrated how he whipped Corden into shape) made cameo appearances with pre-recorded messages.
Although the show went out yesterday, it was actually taped in LA the day before at the CBS studios, so at least he had the 'safety valve' of that to rely on during his first performance. There will be no let-up in the stars lined up to appear with Corden in future, with American actors Chris Pine and Will Ferrell set to guest later this week.
After starring in the Television series Fat Friends for several years, Corden will (probably) forever be associated with the television series he next worked on, the hugely popular British television sitcom Gavin & Stacey, which he co-wrote and starred in, picking up a BAFTA Television Award for Best Comedy Performance as a result in 2008. His musical success includes featuring on Dizzee Rascal's number one hit "Shout", which was an unofficial anthem for the England team during their 2010 World Cup campaign.