1996–2006: Early career Corden's first stage appearance was at the age of 18, with a one-line part in the 1996 musical
Martin Guerre. His early television work included Gareth Jones in the 1999 series
Boyz Unlimited. He also starred in
Tango advertisements in 1998, had a role as a bookish student in
Teachers, and in 2000 had a small part in an episode of
Hollyoaks. Corden had guest appearances on
Little Britain and
Dalziel and Pascoe, both in 2004. Corden's early film credits include
Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? (1999),
Mike Leigh's
All or Nothing (2002),
Heartlands (2002), and
Cruise of the Gods (2002). In 2006, he appeared in the film
Starter for 10. At the 2008 Television BAFTAs, Corden won the
BAFTA for
Best Male Comedy Performance, and
Gavin & Stacey won the BAFTA's Audience Award for Programme of the Year. In December 2008, the show won Best TV Comedy in the 2008 British Comedy Awards.
Gavin & Stacey also won the award for Most Popular Comedy Programme at the
National Television Awards in 2010. In 2019,
Gavin & Stacey returned for a Christmas special, which achieved the highest Christmas Day viewership in the UK for more than a decade. During the two year and seven months run of
Gavin & Stacey, Corden's professional endeavours outside the successful series proved somewhat chequered. He guest hosted ''
Big Brother's Big Mouth, with Gavin & Stacey'' co-star
Mathew Horne, in August 2007. In 2008, he appeared in
the film of
Toby Young's 2001 autobiography
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People. He collaborated again with Horne on a 2009 sketch show named
Horne & Corden, described by the BBC as a "traditional comedy entertainment show in the style of
Morecambe and Wise". The show ran for only one series and was poorly received by the critics, with Corden later admitting "the absolute truth is I wasn't good enough." In 2009, Corden starred in the film
Lesbian Vampire Killers, which was unsuccessful. That year he played
Clem Cattini in the
Joe Meek biopic
Telstar, and likewise in the animated
Planet 51 along with Mathew Horne. In March 2009, he appeared in a sketch for the UK charity telethon
Comic Relief giving the
England football team a motivational talk, and later presented a section with Horne showing their best bits of comedy from the previous two years along with highlights from the night. In March 2010, he presented
Sport Relief 2010 alongside
Davina McCall and others, contributing a "sequel" to the 2009 England football team sketch, this time giving a motivational talk to various sports stars including
David Beckham and motor racing driver
Jenson Button. In March 2010, Corden took part in ''
Channel 4's Comedy Gala'', a
benefit show held in aid of
Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, filmed live at the
O2 Arena in London. On 5 June 2010, he performed his England World Cup single with
Dizzee Rascal on the finale of ''
Britain's Got Talent''. The proceeds from the single went to London's
Great Ormond Street Hospital. In June 2010, Corden played Craig Owens in the
Doctor Who episode "
The Lodger", in which
the Doctor moved in with him. Corden returned as Owens in "
Closing Time" in the sixth series. In December 2010,
This Is JLS, an hour-long Christmas special featuring the boyband and
The X Factor runners-up, was aired on
ITV1, with Corden writing and producing some of the sketches featured in the special. In 2010, he was in the main cast of the film ''
Gulliver's Travels''.
2011–2014: One Man, Two Guvnors to interview then British Prime Minister
David Cameron in March 2014 In February 2011, Corden presented the
2011 Brit Awards. In March, Corden reprised his
Gavin & Stacey role as Smithy in a
Red Nose Day sketch for the charity telethon Comic Relief. The sketch included appearances by then UK Prime Minister
Gordon Brown,
JLS,
Paul McCartney, and
Justin Bieber. The show also featured the first appearance of his
Carpool Karaoke sketch, in which he sang songs with pop star
George Michael while driving around London. In 2011, he appeared in
The Three Musketeers. Starting in June 2011, Corden played the lead role in the hit comedy play
One Man, Two Guvnors. The play was cinecast worldwide as part of the
National Theatre Live cinecasts, and transferred from the
National Theatre to the
West End after touring. The show received universal critical acclaim and won Best Play at the
Evening Standard Theatre Awards for 2011.
The Guardian deemed it "A triumph of visual and verbal comedy. One of the funniest productions in the National's history." The
Daily Telegraph described it as "the feelgood hit of the Summer"; while
The Independent called it a "massive hit", and the
Evening Standard "a surefire hit". Corden made a cameo appearance in the music video for the single "
Mama Do the Hump" by
Rizzle Kicks, released in December 2011, which reached No. 2 in the charts. In April 2012,
One Man, Two Guvnors transferred to
Broadway, with Corden continuing to play the lead. In June 2012, he won the
Tony Award for
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for his performance. In 2015, Corden narrated ''
Roald Dahl's Esio Trot'', a BBC television film adaptation of
Roald Dahl's classic
novel. Adapted by
Richard Curtis and co-starring
Dustin Hoffman and
Judi Dench, it was broadcast on BBC One on 1 January 2015. In 2016, he appeared in the animated comedy film
Trolls as Biggie, a chubby friendly Troll. For his next project, Corden teamed up with friend and fellow
Gavin & Stacey star
Mathew Baynton to create, write, and star in
The Wrong Mans, a six-part comedy-thriller for
BBC Two. The premiere was in September 2013. The series was co-produced by online television provider
Hulu in the United States, and it began airing in November 2013.
2015–2023: The Late Late Show and stardom In March 2015, Corden succeeded
Craig Ferguson as host of the American
late-night talk show The Late Late Show. Corden's most popular comedic segments included "Drop the Mic", "Fill Your Guts or Spill Your Guts", "Crosswalk the Musical", and "
Carpool Karaoke". Talking to
David Tennant on his BBC Podcast
David Tennant Does a Podcast With..., Tennant asked how much of
The Late Late Show was him and how much was acting, to which Corden replied: "...I would hope it's a close strain to me, I would hope that I am someone looks for the joy in things and stuff, you're not [pause] ever really being your ...self" Corden's
Carpool Karaoke through the streets of London with pop singer
Adele, a sketch that was featured on his talk show in January 2016, was the biggest viral video on YouTube in 2016. Corden did numerous editions of Carpool Karaoke with singers such as Sir
Elton John,
Stevie Wonder,
Mariah Carey,
Madonna,
Jennifer Lopez,
Harry Styles, and
Katy Perry.
Apple TV+ adapted the segment into a streaming series
Carpool Karaoke: The Series. Corden's special
Carpool Karaoke: When Corden Met McCartney, Live From Liverpool with Sir
Paul McCartney was a viral and critical success earning a
Primetime Emmy Award nomination and win for
Outstanding Variety Special. In the special, Corden and McCartney sang the Beatles songs "
Drive My Car", "
Penny Lane", and "
Let It Be". The pair stopped by a
Penny Lane street sign, which McCartney signed. McCartney pointed out various Liverpool landmarks, including
Saint Barnabas Church, where he had been a choir boy, and also visited his childhood home. The special ended with McCartney and his band surprising a small group of locals at
Liverpool's Philharmonic Pub with a 13-song set that included "
A Hard Day's Night", "
Back in the U.S.S.R" and his new single, "
Come On to Me". Corden hosted the
Tony Awards in
2016 and
2019, and the
Grammy Awards in
2017 and
2018. In 2018, the
Seatbelt Psychic television series was produced by Corden and his production company
Fulwell 73 for
Lifetime platform. In 2019, Corden starred in
Tom Hooper's feature film adaptation of
Andrew Lloyd Webber's popular musical
Cats as
Bustopher Jones, which received widespread negative attention. The film also featured
Jennifer Hudson,
Idris Elba,
Taylor Swift,
Ian McKellen, and
Judi Dench. Some critics called it one of the worst films of the year due to its poorly conceived
CGI and off kilter comedic performances from
Rebel Wilson and Corden. For his performance, Corden received the
Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor of the year. Lloyd Webber was a vocal critic of the film, specially criticizing Corden's performance, adding he "begged for it to be cut". Corden's leading role in the 2020 musical comedy film
The Prom received negative reviews, and was named "one of the worst performances of the 21st century" by
Vanity Fairs
Richard Lawson. Lawson elaborated, writing: "Corden, flitting and lisping around in the most uninspired of caricatures, misses all potential for nuance, and thus never finds even a hint of truth in the role". His portrayal of a gay man while he himself is straight was deemed offensive by many film critics and members of the
LGBTQ community, with critics adding that the performance perpetuated and capitalized on stereotypes of gay white men. Corden received an even larger amount of backlash when this performance earned him a
Golden Globe Award nomination for
Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Film. Corden also received negative reviews for his performance in the 2021 adaptation of
Cinderella, which he produced. Clarisse Loughrey of
The Independent wrote: "James Corden has made a #Girlboss fairytale only a voracious capitalist could love". In 2021, the
Late Late Show segment "Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts" was criticised for its "racist" use of Asian cuisine, such as
balut and
chicken feet. Celebrity guests were made to eat foods that Corden had judged to be "horrific" and "disgusting" or answer a difficult personal question. Corden later agreed to change the foods used. In April 2022, Corden announced that he would be leaving
The Late Late Show in 2023.
2024–present: The Constituent and Gavin & Stacey finale On 20 March 2024, it was announced that Corden would make his return to theatre, starring as Alec in a new political drama by
Joe Penhall called
The Constituent, opposite
Anna Maxwell Martin and directed by
Matthew Warchus. The play ran at
The Old Vic in London from 13 June to 10 August 2024. Once again teaming up with Ruth Jones, together they wrote and starred in the final episode of
Gavin & Stacey, airing on Christmas Day 2024 on BBC One, 17 years after the show was first broadcast. In September 2025, Corden returned to
Broadway at the
Music Box Theatre playing Yvan in the revival of
Yasmina Reza's play
Art opposite
Bobby Cannavale and
Neil Patrick Harris for a limited season, direct by
Scott Ellis.
Controversies In a 2016 "Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts" segment with Jimmy Kimmel, Corden was unable to name two of his regular camera operators despite daily collaboration, drawing criticism for apparent disregard for crew members. In October 2022, Corden's monologue included a joke nearly identical to one from
Ricky Gervais's 2018 Netflix special
Humanity, prompting accusations of plagiarism. Corden called it "inadvertent", and Gervais suggested it was likely a writer's error. Allison noted that internships and writers' assistant positions already existed as pipeline opportunities, and characterized the proposal as skeptical given the show's staff were already among television's lowest-paid writers. The remarks drew groans from the audience and criticism from figures including Rose McGowan; Corden later apologised on Twitter, stating "sexual assault is no laughing matter" and that his intent was to shame Weinstein, not his victims. In October 2022, Corden was banned from the New York restaurant
Balthazar by proprietor
Keith McNally, after reportedly being "abusive" and "extremely nasty" to staff. The ban was later rescinded after Corden apologised to McNally in private and in public, admitting that he had been "ungracious". Keith McNally described James Corden as a "tiny cretin" and the "most abusive customer" to his servers in 25 years, citing incidents where Corden berated staff over food errors. == Influences ==