James Corden said Jan. 2 that the real reason he left his lucrative position as the host of “The Late Late Show” was for the benefit of his family.
“Nothing about leaving the show was to do with not enjoying it – I love it,” Corden clarified to Drew Barrymore on her eponymous show when he was asked why he was departing his talk show seemingly at the height of his career. “It’s not easy, in any way, to walk away from something that is so- I mean, I’ll never work in a better environment than the one I work in now. But the truth is it became a very easy decision because I always knew it was an adventure, and I never, ever considered it to be the final destination.”
Corden was full of praise for his work environment and expressed his love for his job, but explained that ultimately he is motivated by the happiness of his family.
Corden told Barrymore about a conversation he had with his son during the time he was filming “Mammals,” and explained how it affected his decision to call it quits.
“One day I was filming on a Sunday and I came downstairs it was about 6 a.m., and my son, who was 10 at the time, sat on the stairs and he said, ‘Are you working today?’ And I said, ‘I am.’ And he said, ‘I thought … but it’s Sunday,'” Corden told Barrymore.
“And I said, ‘I know buddy, the schedule’s just so all over the place, we’ve got a tiny amount of time before we have to go back and do the show,’ and his face just kind of dropped,” Corden said. (RELATED: James Corden Has Now Been Caught Committing The Worst Sin In Comedy)
That defining moment led him to call his wife and express his desire to pause his career.
“I called my wife Jules, and I said, I’ve realized, best case scenario … best case scenario, we have six more summers where Max is like, even remotely wants to be around us and I cannot waste another one,” Corden recalled.
“And really the choice was, well, if I want to do this other work, it can’t be at the expense of our children, our family, and that is really what it all comes down to.”
Corden said he would miss being on the show and expects his departure to be an emotional one.
“I will be a mess at that last show, I will cry my eyes out, but I will know at my core that the best thing for me and the best thing for us as a family is to put down some roots in London and it feels absolutely right in every single way.”