The stage and screen legend Patrick Stewart joined James Corden on the penultimate episode of The Late Late Show to help send off the comedian.
The 82-year-old thespian was on hand to chat about the end of his spinoff series Star Trek: Picard, which went out on the high note of its third and final season following two seasons that received lukewarm reviews.
Stewart was making a joint appearance with Mila Kunis, who joined him at the same time on the couch.
The Star Trek actor and Corden were both warm and complementary to each other, which was a far cry from the venom the two displayed toward each other during an infamous 2010 confrontation on stage at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards.
Thirteen years ago, Stewart mocked Corden’s weight and apparent disinterest in the show that he was hosting, but there was no hint of any remaining animosity between the two actors.
Stacked lineup: James Corden reunited with Patrick Stewart on Wednesday for the penultimate episode of his late night talk show The Late Late Show, along with fellow guest Mila Kunis
Sweet: The 44-year-old comedian shared a warm hug with the 82-year-old Star Trek legend
Water under the bridge: The appearance came 13 years after Stewart confronted Corden at the 2010 Glamour Women of the Year Awards and fat shamed him on stage
During Stewart’s Wednesday night appearance, he got a warm hug from Corden.
Once the interview started, Corden jogged his memory by mentioning that they met for the first time years earlier at the Royal National Theatre.
Stewart had wanted to see Corden after a ‘brilliant’ performance he gave on stage, which he guessed happened when the comedian was only ’17 or 18,’ though Corden corrected him.
‘No, I looked it, but I was actually 26,’ he said as the audience erupted in laughter and Stewart got a disappointed look on his face.
But the Logan star added that Corden had done ‘exceptional’ work in the show, and Corden called it a ‘huge deal’ for everyone in the cast to know that Stewart had enjoyed the show.
Stewart’s presence was a delight for Mila, who was an enormous Star Trek fan.
‘I love you so much!’ she gushed, before mention that — back in the day when people could spend $0.99 to buy a new ringtone — she had paid for one that went ‘Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise’ in a sing-song tone.
He recounted how some of his TV connections told him that Star Trek: The Next Generation was doomed to fail because it would fall in the shadow of the original Star Trek series and its successful sequel movies.
They urged him to still sign on, in the believe that after 12 episodes he could go back to doing all of the Shakespeare plays he had lined up, though the show ended up becoming a hit.
Although Stewart and Corden seemed like the best of buddies, they had a much more tense confrontation on stage 13 years earlier.
Old school: Once the interview started, Corden jogged his memory by mentioning that they met for the first time years earlier at the Royal National Theatre
Stewart had wanted to see Corden after a ‘brilliant’ performance he gave on stage, which he guessed happened when the comedian was only ’17 or 18,’ though Corden corrected him. ‘No, I looked it, but I was actually 26,’ he said to the audience’s laughter
Over the moon: Stewart’s presence was a delight for Mila, who was an enormous Star Trek fan and used to have a ringtone referencing his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Corden had been hosting the Glamour Awards in 2010, and when it was Stewart’s turn to come on stage to present an award to Zoë Saldaña, he asked the Into The Woods star to come up to the podium, before delivering a dismissive quip: ‘It’s James, isn’t it?’
Corden got right up in his face as he proceeded to lecture him about proper hosting etiquette.
‘When the presenters are up here, and when the recipients are up here receiving awards, don’t stand on the back of the stage with your hands in your pockets, looking around as if you were anywhere but here,’ he said sternly.
‘Oh, you could not be more wrong, Sir!’ Corden shot back, before apologizing if he looked bored.
But he added his own short words of advice to Stewart.
‘But when you come up and present an award, just f***ing get on with it,’ he said before stepping away, which got laughs from Stewart and the audience.
But the Dune actor wasn’t ready to leave it at that, and he brought up Corden again during his speech.
”From where I was sitting, I can see your belly,’ he said to shocked noise from the audience, before pointing out that he was at the back of the room.
Then Corden came up to the microphone and interjected: ‘Sorry, I’m waiting for the punchline.’
He put his face even closer to the veteran actor’s, and Stewart was clearly uncomfortable, as Codren said, ‘You can see my belly, and we can all see you dying right now.’
The agonizing exchange was partially defused by Saldaña when she was finally able to accept her award.
Awkward: In 2010, Corden was hosting the Glamour Women of the Year Awards when Stewart was presenting. The Logan star called Corden back to the podium to lecture him about looking bored
Yikes: Things got worse when Stewart said he could see Corden’s ‘belly’ all the way from the back of the room
Ouch: Corden came up to the microphone and interjected: ‘Sorry, I’m waiting for the punchline.’ He said Stewart was ‘dying’ on stage amid the groans, and later he said the ‘old man’ needed a taxi home
Happy ending: But the two filmed a humorous video together shortly afterward to show they buried the hatchet, and Stewart has previously joined Corden on The Late Late Show; seen in 2010 in London
‘For what it’s worth, I like [Corden’s] belly, but I would pay to see Sir Patrick Stewart dying on stage any day,’ she said to applause from the crowd.
After she and Stewart had left the stage, Corden pulled up his shirt to show his actual belly to the audience.
‘Can we get a taxi ready, please? The old man’s going home!’ he bellowed at the end, referring to Stewart.
Despite the uncomfortable exchange, Corden and Stewart appeared in a humorous video shortly afterward to show that there were no hard feelings between the two, and Stewart has previously made appearances on The Late Late Show without displaying any animosity.
