Over Jimmy Fallon's six years on "Saturday Night Live," he played a stoner college kid; a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan; a snobby worker at Jeffrey's; Nick Burns, your company's computer guy and Barry Gibb. Now it's time for Jimmy Fallon to play a role he's not so used to - himself.
In a recent interview with The Eagle, Fallon discussed his upcoming talk show, "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," and his plans to helm the show.
Despite his long stint on "SNL," which required him to be a bit of a ham, Fallon said he plans to make sure he keeps the center of attention on the people he interviews rather than himself.
"I'm just going to focus on hosting the show and making my guests look good," he said.
Fallon said his prior experience on "Saturday Night Live" with the celebrities he will be interviewing will be helpful in hosting the show rather than detrimental because he has the advantage of having met the stars before.
Fallon has been preparing for the show's premiere by frequently posting video blogs with behind-the-scenes action to whet the appetites of his curious future audience. The show will cater to a young, technology-savvy viewership. Though Fallon's show doesn't start until 12:35 a.m., he said his audience could encompass any number of different demographics.
"That could be security guards ... gosh, people walking past electronics stores in different cities ... and college kids," Fallon said of his potential viewers. "And people who are comedy junkies who just need one more laugh before they go to sleep."
While Fallon promises his program will be unique, his choice for the show's house band gives viewers the opportunity to be part of an original musical experience in comparison to other late-night shows. The Roots - already a very popular band - have agreed to be the musical choice of "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon."
He said having The Roots as his house band will be one of the best parts of being an in-studio audience member at his show because they will put on mini-concerts during commercial breaks. Fallon also informed The Eagle that if music fans want to just see the musical guest, there will be a line specifically for the music portion of the show, during which members will fill rafters behind the band's set, providing even more of a concert experience.
The obvious stigma in taking over a late night talk show is not lost on Fallon as he prepares to fill the shoes of the big hair left before him.
"I've talked to Conan [O'Brien], I've talked to Jay Leno, I've talked to Kimmel, I talked to [Stephen] Colbert - I talked to Garry Shandling who's a fictitious talk show host, he was great," Fallon said. "They've all given me great advice. And Colbert gave me advice. He said that it was something Conan told him that Carson told Conan, which is that, with this show, you've got to leave everything you got."
Fallon, who will step into his new role as host on March 2, seemed anxious and ready to go. When The Eagle asked how he could sum up his new program in one sentence, Fallon showed his suave security as he answered without hesitation - "'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon' - coconut-y, caramel-y and a little cherry chocolate honey."
You can reach this staff writer at cmoore@theeagleonline.com.
