James Corden admits his dream is to appear in West End musical despite US success

The British star currently voices Peter Rabbit in the big screen film 
Dream role: James Corden wants to star on the West End stage
Christopher Polk/Getty Images
Alistair Foster12 March 2018
The Weekender

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James Corden's American chat show is a huge hit but he still hopes to star in a West End musical.

The comedian, 39, caught up with A-List during his flying visit to the UK for the premiere of his film Peter Rabbit, in which he voices the title role. He used his only night off to catch Bryan Cranston in Network at the National Theatre.

Corden said: “This has been a really quick trip and it’s been full on, but I went to the National Theatre which is something I always try to do. You will never be disappointed there.

"That’s the thing you have most of in London — I don’t even know if most people realise, but on a global scale, London is the single most vibrant theatrical scene and community in the world.

"There is nowhere else on Earth, that I know of, that produces work like the National, the Donmar, the Young Vic, the Almeida, the new Bridge Theatre now — then there’s the West End.

"It’s absolutely mind-blowing how much there is to see and how much new theatre there is. Lots of other places where there is theatre it’s just a mass of revivals and old musicals starring someone from this thing or that thing.”

Corden won a series of stage awards including a Tony for his role in One Man, Two Guvnors, which premiered at the National in 2011 before transferring to the West End and Broadway.

He added: “I do miss it very much. I hope I’ll be able to at some point be in another play — I’ve never been in a musical yet and that’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”

He began hosting The Late Late Show in 2015 and said his commitments means his dream will have to wait. He said: “It’s not even something I can allow myself to think about right now because contractually I have a job I have to do for a couple of more years.”

Corden’s chat show is behind viral clips including Carpool Karaoke, in which he has sung with stars including Lady Gaga, Adele and Ed Sheeran.

He admitted the pressure of constantly trying to innovate could be a struggle.

He said: “You’re just constantly trying to produce content. Never before in history have people consumed content as quickly as they consume it now. It can be all-consuming — that’s why doing things like Peter Rabbit can be quite a nice respite.”

Peter Rabbit is released in UK cinemas on Friday.

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