Cristin Milioti | "The Penguin"

Summary

Summary of "Cristin Milioti | 'The Penguin'" Episode of The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert

Release Date: June 9, 2025

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Introduction to the Episode

In this engaging episode of The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert, host Stephen Colbert welcomes Grammy Award-winning actress Cristin Milioti. Known for her standout roles in "How I Met Your Mother," "The Wolf of Wall Street," and most recently, the HBO limited series "The Penguin," Milioti brings a wealth of experience and charisma to the conversation.

Guest Introduction and Initial Banter

The episode begins with Stephen’s characteristic warm welcome as he introduces Cristin Milioti.

[02:10] Stephen Colbert: "Welcome back everybody. Folks, my next guest tonight is a Grammy Award-winning actress you know from How I Met Your Mother, the Wolf of Wall Street, and Palm Springs. She now stars in the HBO limited series 'The Penguin.' Please welcome to the Late Show Cristin Milioti."

Cristin responds graciously, and the two engage in light-hearted banter about Cristin's stylish appearance and Stephen’s own fashion choices.

[02:37] Cristin Milioti: "So nice to meet you and I."
[02:38] Stephen Colbert: "Just want to say, that is, so few of our guests show up in high fashion."
[02:41] Cristin Milioti: "Thank you. Looks fantastic."

Career Highlights and Grammy Achievement

Stephen delves into Cristin's impressive career, highlighting her Grammy win. Cristin shares her feelings about the honor, despite not being able to attend the ceremony due to her commitments to a live performance.

[03:36] Cristin Milioti: "I cried a lot in that studio. Not in a bad way just because, like, you know, you're getting sure."
[03:52] Cristin Milioti: "Yes, for once. Yes, I do have a Grammy and it's very, it was a very huge honor. I didn't get to go, though. Not that that cancels it out."

Stephen expresses admiration and curiosity about her Grammy-winning performance.

[04:07] Cristin Milioti: "Yeah. That's how much we love the theater. You went. Good for you."

Early Acting Experiences and Personal Anecdotes

The conversation shifts to Cristin's early passion for acting and performing. She reminisces about her childhood involvement in school plays and summer camps, which fueled her desire to pursue acting professionally.

[05:32] Cristin Milioti: "I always loved movies so much, I wanted to climb inside them. They were like a song. Like when you want to climb, you want to climb inside a song, right?"
[06:00] Cristin Milioti: "Rockadoodle itself. It's pretty self-explanatory."

Cristin shares a memorable story from summer camp where she was cast as the "nerd girl" in a musical, highlighting her enthusiasm and dedication even as a child.

[07:16] Cristin Milioti: "On purpose, on purpose was that I was like, ah."

Discussion About "The Penguin"

A significant portion of the interview focuses on Cristin's role in HBO's "The Penguin." She discusses her character, Sophia Falcone, the daughter of a mob leader, and delves into the complexities of portraying a villainous figure in the Batman universe.

[07:35] Stephen Colbert: "Well, now you're starring opposite Colin Farrell in the HBO limited series 'The Penguin.' You play Sophia Falcone."
[07:45] Cristin Milioti: "Oh, my God. I mean, she's... I think, an incredible villain. She's the daughter of a mob boss, and she, without giving anything away, has a real bone to pick."

Cristin gives insight into her character's motivations and the depth she brings to Sophia Falcone.

[08:03] Cristin Milioti: "I trusted you. I loved you. And yet not one of you tried to help me, except for my brother, the man you all flew in to mourn. And, you know, the real thorn in my side is that, unlike everyone here, I was innocent."
[08:52] Cristin Milioti: "I had to."
[09:01] Cristin Milioti: "Yeah."

Behind-the-Scenes Insights and Favorite Moments

Cristin shares her favorite aspects of working on "The Penguin," including her experience wearing the character's distinctive costume—a fluorescent yellow ball gown paired with a gas mask and a gun. She expresses her excitement and joy in embodying a character she admired from childhood.

[09:06] Cristin Milioti: "I mean, can you... Especially, like, when you are a fan of anything with villains or, like, comic books or Batman or, you know, when they put that on me, to know that I was in this, like, fluorescent yellow ball gown with a gas mask and a gun and that makeup, like, I knew I was like a kid at Christmas."
[09:24] Cristin Milioti: "If that kid loves Christmas. Yeah."
[09:27] Cristin Milioti: "And guns. Yeah. I loved it."

Stephen appreciates her enthusiasm and the unique elements she brings to the role.

[09:30] Stephen Colbert: "It's so lovely to meet you. Thank you for being here."
[09:33] Cristin Milioti: "Thank you."

Closing Remarks

The episode wraps up with Cristin Milioti promoting "The Penguin," now available on Max, and Stephen invites listeners to explore more content on The Late Show YouTube channel.

[09:33] Stephen Colbert: "The Penguin is available now on Max. Cristin Milioti, everybody. Thank you for listening to the Late Show Pod show with Stephen Colbert."

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Key Takeaways

• Cristin Milioti's Versatile Career: From television sitcoms to acclaimed films and now a significant role in "The Penguin," Cristin showcases her range as an actress.

• Emotional Depth: Cristin shares the emotional journey of winning a Grammy and the vulnerabilities involved in her performances.

• Passion for Acting: Her early love for acting and storytelling underscores her dedication to her craft.

• Unique Role in "The Penguin": Portraying Sophia Falcone allows Cristin to explore complex villainous traits, blending her love for comic books with professional acting.

Notable Quotes

• On Acting Passion:
  [06:35] Cristin Milioti: "I always loved movies so much, I wanted to climb inside them."

• On Grammy Achievement:
  [03:51] Stephen Colbert: "Yes, for once. Is it true you won your Grammy for..."
  [03:52] Cristin Milioti: "Yes, for once. Yes, I do have a Grammy and it's very, it was a very huge honor."

• On Her Role in "The Penguin":
  [07:45] Cristin Milioti: "I think she's an incredible villain. She's the daughter of a mob boss, and she, without giving anything away, has a real bone to pick."

• On Costume and Character:
  [09:06] Cristin Milioti: "I was in this, like, fluorescent yellow ball gown with a gas mask and a gun and that makeup, like, I knew I was like a kid at Christmas."

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This episode provides listeners with an intimate look into Cristin Milioti's professional journey, her emotional experiences in acting, and her excitement about her role in "The Penguin." Through candid conversations and personal anecdotes, Stephen Colbert and Cristin offer valuable insights into the world of acting and character development.

Transcript

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[Cristin Milioti]

It's the Late Show Poncho with Stephen Colbert.

[Stephen Colbert]

Welcome back everybody. Folks, my next guest tonight is a Grammy Award winning actress you know from How I Met yout Mother, the Wolf of Wall street in Palm Springs. She now stars in the HBO limited series the Penguin. Please welcome to the Late Show Kristin Melioti. Hey, so nice to meet you.

[Cristin Milioti]

So nice to meet you and I.

[Stephen Colbert]

Just want to say, that is, so few of our guests show up in high fashion.

[Cristin Milioti]

Thank you. Looks fantastic.

[Stephen Colbert]

This is so beautiful. Thank you. You're the queen of licorice.

[Cristin Milioti]

Thank you so, so much.

[Stephen Colbert]

Fantastic.

[Cristin Milioti]

Yeah. It's wonderful. I can't move very well and I can't lift my arms, but I'm so happy to be here.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's exactly what comes at a cost.

[Cristin Milioti]

Yeah, it's so nice. Sorry.

[Stephen Colbert]

No, no, no, please. No, no, no, please.

[Cristin Milioti]

I don't.

[Stephen Colbert]

I was just saying, I say to you backstage, I don't know why we've never met, but I feel like I have met you.

[Cristin Milioti]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

I guess you've got such a lovely, friendly face that I feel like we're already friends, but I know that's not possible. I don't know.

[Cristin Milioti]

We can.

[Stephen Colbert]

Let's see how this goes. Let's not jump into a friend wagon together.

[Cristin Milioti]

Exactly. A very casual test.

[Stephen Colbert]

We do have something in common. I have a vocal coach that I haven't used in many years, Liz Kaplan, who's fantastic. And we share the same person.

[Cristin Milioti]

Yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

And I wish.

[Cristin Milioti]

Written her a letter and I would see it on her wall every time I was doing those warm ups. And, you know, to sing is, like, very vulnerable.

[Stephen Colbert]

Very.

[Cristin Milioti]

I cried a lot in that studio. Not in a bad way just because, like, you know, you're getting sure.

[Stephen Colbert]

No. It can also be terrifying when you've worked on something to go like, you know, you've got a Grammy. You've got a Grammy. Yeah. Tell the people what you won your Grammy for.

[Cristin Milioti]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yes, for once.

[Cristin Milioti]

Yeah, for once. Yes, I do have a Grammy and it's very. It was very huge honor. I didn't get to go, though. Not that that cancels it out.

[Stephen Colbert]

Did you go to the Grammys?

[Cristin Milioti]

No, we were not. They said, get on that stage. You got a performance to do.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, exactly.

[Cristin Milioti]

We did a matinee so we couldn't go.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, wow. Yeah.

[Cristin Milioti]

That's how much we love the theater. You went. Good for you.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Cristin Milioti]

I'm also. I'm a massive Strangers with Candy fan. Oh, yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

So you're emotionally disturbed.

[Cristin Milioti]

Yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's interesting. Oh, thanks very much. Yeah, yeah, I liked it too. It's an odd little show.

[Cristin Milioti]

It was one of my favorite shows growing up.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, so glad. So glad. Learn important lessons with that show.

[Cristin Milioti]

You sure do. Yes. Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

As I said, you know, I have a lovely voice. Thank you. One for once. Is it true your audition song is from Jesus Christ Superstar?

[Cristin Milioti]

For a long time. My audition song for every musical that I could not book was I Don't know how to Love Him. I love Jesus Christ Superstar, which I hear you love as well.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

[Cristin Milioti]

Fabulous. Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

Would you do the. Cause that song appears twice, once with Yvonne Ellman's version of it. Yes, that's Head's version is Judas, which.

[Cristin Milioti]

It was the Mary. It was the Ivan. Yeah. And I also would do Everything's All Right as well, which, like, doesn't land in a room.

[Stephen Colbert]

No, it's definitely because it's a very repetitive.

[Cristin Milioti]

You need a bunch of people. You need people washing feet. You can't, you know, whatever woman.

[Stephen Colbert]

You fine ointment. Yeah, sure.

[Cristin Milioti]

Oh, yeah. You just brought me back.

[Stephen Colbert]

I'm totally incapable of actually singing it, but I really want to play Judas. I'm not right to play the part of playing Judas.

[Cristin Milioti]

Well, who says?

[Stephen Colbert]

Who says? Me.

[Cristin Milioti]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

When did you first. How old were you? Were you a child performer?

[Cristin Milioti]

In the sense that I was like a little ham, like doing school plays.

[Stephen Colbert]

Or were you like professionally.

[Cristin Milioti]

No, just doing things. No, not professionally, but like, really loved putting on skits and like, I directed a live action. Well, live action. There was a movie when I was little called Rock a Doodle. Yeah. Deep cut. One person knows. Rock A Doodle. Yeah. The cast members were justice for Rock A Dole. Yeah. Rock a Doodle was about like a rooster who was an Elvis and he.

[Stephen Colbert]

Rock A Doodle itself.

[Cristin Milioti]

Rockadoodle itself.

[Stephen Colbert]

Exactly.

[Cristin Milioti]

It's pretty self explanatory. And so I was like always wanting to do, you know, to like perform in that way. And I grew up watching a lot of movies that really sort of shaped me too, with my parents who are here. Yeah. Hello and. Yeah, hello.

[Stephen Colbert]

Nice to see you.

[Cristin Milioti]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

When did you lock in? When did you say? Okay, when did you say, I'm not fooling around here. This is what I'm going to do.

[Cristin Milioti]

I. I mean, I always. I. I loved movies so much, I wanted to climb inside them. They were like, Like a song. Like when you want to climb, you want to climb inside a song, Right?

[Stephen Colbert]

Sure.

[Cristin Milioti]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

I think we all.

[Cristin Milioti]

I'm checking before I go. Keep going. Yes. But I went to this summer camp and we did this musical called Leader of the Pack. Really? Woo. Batting a thousand here with Rock a Doodle. Leader of the Pack.

[Stephen Colbert]

Sure.

[Cristin Milioti]

Leader of the Pack is like, about Greasers.

[Stephen Colbert]

Sure.

[Cristin Milioti]

Yeah. It's like a very.

[Stephen Colbert]

It's kind of a jukebox musical with a lot of 50s doo wop stuff.

[Cristin Milioti]

50S doo wop. So it's like, really good for kids. And I was cast as nerd girl. And we were doing a couple performances at camp, and there was one where I had to, like, enter late and see the leader of the pack and get, like, excited. And I threw myself down the steps.

[Stephen Colbert]

On purpose?

[Cristin Milioti]

On purpose, on purpose was that I was like, ah. And then, like, tumbled down the stairs, and the camp, like, flipped, and I was like, oh, I have to feel this, sadly, every day. Yeah. Like, I love this. This is great.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, now you're starring opposite Colin Farrell in the HBO limited series the Penguin. You play Sophia Falcone.

[Cristin Milioti]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

The daughter of the mob leader.

[Cristin Milioti]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

People are loving your performance. Tell us about Sofia Falcone.

[Cristin Milioti]

Oh, my God. I mean, she's. You know, I grew up being a massive Batman fan, and she's just, like, I think, an incredible villain. She's the daughter of a mob boss, and she, without giving anything away, has a real bone to pick.

[Stephen Colbert]

We have a clip here of her picking a bone. Anything you need to tell us about it?

[Cristin Milioti]

Uh, no.

[Stephen Colbert]

Jim. No.

[Cristin Milioti]

I trusted you. I loved you. And yet not one of you tried to help me, except for my brother, the man you all flew in to mourn. And, you know, the real thorn in my side is that, unlike everyone here, I was innocent. Yeah, it was. I loved it. Oh, my God. I. I had.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah, I. I understand you get to wear. You get to wear this beautiful sort of butter yellow dress right here. Yes.

[Cristin Milioti]

I had to.

[Stephen Colbert]

With a gas mask on at the same time. Spoiler.

[Cristin Milioti]

Yeah. And a gun.

[Stephen Colbert]

And a gun.

[Cristin Milioti]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

And I understand this is one of your favorite things you've ever had the chance to wear.

[Cristin Milioti]

I mean, can you. Well, especially, like, when you. When you are a fan of anything with villains or, like, comic books or Batman or, you know, when they put that on me, to know that I was in this, like, fluorescent yellow ball gown with a gas mask and a gun and that makeup, like, I knew I was like a kid at Christmas.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow. Yeah.

[Cristin Milioti]

If that kid loves Christmas. Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

And guns.

[Cristin Milioti]

And guns. Yeah. I loved it.

[Stephen Colbert]

It's so lovely to meet you. Thank you for being here.

[Cristin Milioti]

Thank you.

[Stephen Colbert]

The Penguin is available now on Max. Cristin Miliotti, everybody. Thank you for listening to the Late Show Pod show with Stephen Colbert. Just one more thing. If you want to see more of me, come to The Late Show YouTube channel for more clips and exclusives.

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[Stephen Colbert]

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[Cristin Milioti]

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[Stephen Colbert]

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[Stephen Colbert]

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[Unknown Speaker]

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[Cristin Milioti]

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[Unknown Speaker]

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