Kal Penn seems officially interested in replacing Trevor Noah as host of “The Daily Show.”
“Who wouldn’t want to have that opportunity?” he said.
Sitting with James Corden on Thursday, the former White House staffer and actor who can currently be seen on “American Horror Story” opened up a bit about his interest in the gig.
“I don’t know how comfortable you are talking about this, but Variety magazine recently reported that you are in the running to potentially take over from Trevor Noah on ‘The Daily Show,’” Corden began, citing a story from late last month.
Before the “Harold & Kumar” actor got a chance to weigh in, Corden gave his glowing endorsement, enthusing, “Knowing you as I do, I think you would be absolutely brilliant. I couldn’t think of anybody better as we go into this next election year to do such a thing, given your experience as a White House staffer and your experience as an extremely brilliant comedic performer.”
“Is this something that you would ever consider?” he asked.
“First of all, thank you. What a kind thing to say! Can I use you as a referral?” Penn responded, joking, “because I filled out the application on Comedy Central. You need two referrals; I called the Obamas, I couldn’t get through to Michelle, so I have one from the President, so can you be my No. 2?”
“Absolutely!” Corden said.
“No, look, I grew up on Jon Stewart’s ‘Daily Show,’ and obviously I’ve revered Trevor Noah, so just the mere fact that I was even mentioned in an article like that is a huge honor,” Penn continued. “I feel like I should leave it at that. I mean, who wouldn’t want to have that opportunity? It’s a show that I think so many of us grew up on and really appreciate.”
“If it comes your way,” Corden concluded, “I think you should grab it with both hands.”
Watch the interview in the video above; the two get to discussing “The Daily Show” about three minutes in.