As Stephen Colbert is preparing to bid farewell to The Late Show, the comedian recalled the moments that left him most unsettled.
Speaking with fellow late night hosts Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, and John Oliver on their Strike Force Five podcast, Colbert revealed the guest whose presence caught him completely off guard.
He shared that actress Michelle Williams left him “wildly attracted” and struggling to focus during her first appearance.
“She sat down across from me and I went, ‘Oh f—, what is wrong with my head? I better not look directly at her for this entire interview,’” he recalled.
Williams first visited the show in 2016 to promote Blackbird and has returned several times.
She most recently appeared in April 2025 for her Golden Globe winning FX series Dying for Sex.
Colbert even recited poetry during that appearance, reflecting the impact she had on him.
The host also admitted to a long standing “Rachel Weisz problem” during his Daily Show years.
He would avoid her entirely for fear of embarrassing himself.
He added Andrew Garfield to the list of guests who distracted him, joking with Kimmel about their on air kiss, while Fallon reminded that he also shared a smooch with Colbert just hours before the podcast taping.
When asked if his wife Evelyn McGee Colbert had a celebrity crush of her own, Colbert responded with mock outrage: “Probably me. What are you saying? Why would she need one? She has me.”
