Roy Wood Jr. is still working out whether he would stay with The Daily Show if he’s not tasked with taking over as host for Trevor Noah.
The comedian, who has served as correspondent on the Comedy Central late-night staple since 2015, was a guest on a recent episode of The Daily Beast’s The Last Laugh podcast. When asked about his name being mentioned in media reports as a potential contender to replace Noah after his final episode as host airs Dec. 8, Wood said he would at least consider the role if it were offered, although he wasn’t yet sure how he might put his own stamp on the show.
“You can’t say no to an opportunity like that,” he said. “You can’t turn your nose up at it, at least. I think you have to sit and assess what you want to do creatively, and that’s something I haven’t thought about yet.”
The performer, who made his Daily Show debut on Noah’s premiere episode that aired Sept. 28, 2015, called it a “beautiful thing” that he and his fellow correspondents — including Desi Lydic, Ronny Chieng, Michael Kosta and Dulcé Sloan — could be in the mix for the top gig. He pointed out that the correspondents have a “pre-installed relationship” with the audience, as opposed to what he termed a “more tumultuous” exchange when Noah took over for Jon Stewart.
Wood said that he has also spent time thinking about how his role as a correspondent would evolve if he isn’t chosen to take the reins. As to whether he would stay with the show under a new host, Wood replied, “It would depend on the host. It would depend on the creative direction of the show. What are you trying to do? How do I fit into that? And does that creative direction fit my comedic skill sets and give me an opportunity to show who I am?”
He explained that he has felt encouraged throughout his seven-year Daily Show tenure to pursue segments that align with his real-life interests. “I’ve never been told no when it was a weird thing that you might not think has humor,” Wood continued. “So I would want to make sure that whatever I’m doing on television — and this is Daily Show and beyond — I want to make sure that it’s something that equates to the things I find funny, and the things that I’m curious about.”
During Noah’s surprise announcement on Sept. 29 that he would be leaving the show, he began his spiel by mentioning it was Wood who first reminded him that he had served as host for seven years. On the following episode, Wood addressed this by jokingly giving Noah a hard time about it and quipping, “Why’d you bring my name into it when you quit?”
Source: Hollywood
