Stephen Colbert has revealed his most ‘distracting’ crush on an A-list guest as he prepares to bid farewell to his talk show after 11 seasons.
The married host, 62, whose show was canceled last year after a decade on-air, reminisced on a time he was ‘wildly attracted’ to a much-younger star in 2019 and ‘didn’t know what to do with his eyeballs.’
Appearing on the Strike Force Five podcast, Colbert was asked by host Jimmy Kimmel: ‘Has there been a guest who was so attractive that you found it distracting?’
Colbert admitted: ‘I’ll tell you who I did not expect to be wildly attracted to. Like, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I did not know what to do with my eyeballs when Michelle Williams was on for the first time.
‘She sat down across from me and I went, “F**k, what is wrong with my head?” I’d better not look directly at her for this entire interview.’
Colbert, who has been married to Evelyn McGee since 1993, then heaped praise on the 45-year-old Dawson’s Creek star’s ‘vibe’ and ‘face’, calling her ‘so beautiful.’
Stephen Colbert has revealed his most ‘distracting’ crush on an A-list guest as he prepares to bid farewell to his talk show after 11 seasons
The married talk show icon, 62, whose show was canceled last year after a decade on-air, reminisced on a time he was ‘wildly attracted’ to a much-younger star in 2019 and ‘didn’t know what to do with his eyeballs’
Five time Oscar nominee Williams first crossed paths with Colbert on his show in April 2019 as she plugged miniseries, Fosse/Verdon.
Her last encounter with the smitten host was in April 2025 to discuss series, Dying For Sex.
Williams has been married to Thomas Kail – with whom she shares three children – since 2020.
She welcomed daughter Matilda, 21, with late ex Heath Ledger
Colbert also revealed he ‘used to have a Rachel Weisz problem’, detailing how he would have to ‘leave the building’ when she was on the show for ‘fear I would say something stupid.’
Strike Force Five includes Colbert, Kimmel, Late Night host Seth Meyers, Last Week Tonight’s John Oliver, and The Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon.
They formed in 2023 during a writers’ strike, and the group reunited on Monday’s episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
Colbert shockingly announced on July 17 2025 that Paramount/CBS would not be renewing his contract after 11 years on the air, and they would end the late-night program after 44 years on the air.
Colbert admitted: ‘I’ll tell you who I did not expect to be wildly attracted to. Like, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I did not know what to do with my eyeballs when Michelle Williams was on for the first time’ – Colbert pictured with Williams in 2019
‘She sat down across from me and I went, ‘F**k, what is wrong with my head? I’d better not look directly at her for this entire interview’ he said – pictured in April 2025
Colbert, who has been married to Evelyn McGee since 1993 (pictured November 2025), heaped praise on the 45-year-old Dawson’s Creek star’s ‘vibe’ and ‘face’, calling her ‘so beautiful’
Williams has been married to Thomas Kail – with whom she shares three children – since 2020 – pictured April 2026 – she is also mom to a daughter with the late Heath Ledger
Colbert also revealed he ‘used to have a Rachel Weisz problem’, detailing how he would have to ‘leave the building’ when she was on the show for ‘fear I would say something stupid’ – pictured 2023
Strike Force Five includes Colbert (center) and (from L-R) Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver and Seth Meyers
At the time, the network claimed it was ‘purely a financial decision,’ but the cancellation came days after the devout Catholic called Paramount/CBS’s $16 million lawsuit settlement with President Donald Trump ‘a big fat bribe.’
Paramount was also in the midst of a multibillion-dollar merger with the movie studio Skydance, which requires the government approval of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
‘I will tell you when I got knocked off the air for a few days. People canceled Disney+,’ Kimmel noted.
‘Why aren’t you people canceling Paramount+? Because you didn’t have it in the first place? [laughs]’
Former Late Show host David Letterman, Tom Hanks, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Pedro Pascal are among A-listers set to appear in its final days.
The tributes have already rolled in as 51-year-old Fallon previously appeared as a guest on March 5 to belt out an over-the-top rendition of Frank Sinatra’s 1969 song My Way.
Luckily, Colbert secured a post-cancellation gig penning a new Lord of the Rings film for Warner Bros. with his 27-year-old son Peter McGee and Philippa Boyens, which was announced on Tolkien Reading Day, March 25.
His final show will air on May 21.
