The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert — Episode Summary

Episode: Sigourney Weaver | Disaster of Ceremonies
Date: December 9, 2025
Host: Stephen Colbert
Guest: Sigourney Weaver

Overview

This episode of The Late Show Pod Show blends Stephen Colbert's signature comedic monologue—this time lampooning recent Donald Trump escapades at the Kennedy Center Honors and a fictional FIFA Peace Prize—with a charming, insightful conversation with legendary actress Sigourney Weaver. The show balances sharp political satire, behind-the-scenes Hollywood anecdotes, and warm holiday banter, offering listeners wit, nostalgia, and inspiration.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Monologue: Trump, Awards, and Satire

[04:28–15:35]

• Trump Hosts Kennedy Center Honors

  • Colbert opens with jabs at Donald Trump, comparing his self-importance to someone celebrating a "birthday month" ([04:51]).
  • Mocks Trump's unscripted, meandering remarks about music:

    "What's my favorite thing about music? Probably restaurant. I love when a song has one of those big sizzling appetizer platters..."
    — Stephen Colbert ([06:08])

• Fake/Farcical Honors

  • Highlights Trump's receipt of the FIFA Peace Prize, poking fun at its dubiousness and linking soccer and peace in a tongue-in-cheek way.

  • Compares the award's quality unfavorably:

    "It looks like the poster for a movie called Zombie Planet 3, exclusively on a service called Plumbo, with ads."
    — Stephen Colbert ([11:07])

  • Parodies participation trophy culture, invents the "Stephen Colbert Joke Prize" and feigns surprise at winning it himself ([13:01–13:59]).

• Satirical Takedowns

  • Skewers both Trump’s loose approach to facts ("Jimmy Kimmel has never hosted the Kennedy Center Honors" — [08:23]) and his tone:

    “That man, that is a man who knows how to please a crowd. Am I right? The most miserable, horrible audience in the world.”
    — Stephen Colbert ([07:23])

  • Derides the muddled debate over calling soccer "football" in America:

    "It doesn't need to make sense. This is America. Land of the free, home of the brave, not the land of the sensible."
    — Stephen Colbert ([14:49])

Guest Interview: Sigourney Weaver

[17:02–28:17]

Sigourney’s Tour & New Film “Fire and Ash”

• Weaver describes her global promotional tour (New York, London, Mexico City, Paris), and her love for the immersive cinematic experience:

  "I have to say I've seen the movie three times. It's the most amazing experience I've ever had in a theater... I can't wait to see it a fourth time." — Sigourney Weaver ([18:12])

• Colbert agrees the movie is "so immersive," noting others have said "people are going to freak out" ([18:29]).

Holiday Traditions

• Sigourney shares her family’s tradition of hosting a caroling party pre-COVID—piano, songbooks, and 25 carols sung together ([18:49]).
• Playful exchange on carol favorites, with Colbert singing “Good King Wenceslas” and admitting he lacks the range for “O Holy Night” ([19:21–20:01]).

Acting and Avatar’s Motion Capture

• Colbert explores the challenge of playing a 14-year-old Na’vi (Kiri) via motion capture:

  “It’s actually the most actor centric acting you can do in film... It’s just an empty space.... It’s like an early theater rehearsal.... It’s the most free acting I’ve ever gotten to do.”
  — Sigourney Weaver ([20:16])

• She jokes about director James Cameron joining in with a leotard, prompted by Colbert ([21:01]).

Theater Roots and Legendary Mentors

• Colbert highlights Sigourney’s recent West End debut as Prospero in The Tempest ([23:03]).
• Weaver reflects on theatrical full-circle moments at Drury Lane, relating the legacy of John Gielgud:

  "He gave me my first job. I was an understudy for Ingrid Bergman in 'The Constant Wife' and John Gielgud was my director."
  — Sigourney Weaver ([24:12–24:38])

Anecdotes: Ingrid Bergman & Kevin Kline

• Shares funny, tender stories of working with Bergman—her graciousness, and a quirky fixation on height comparison ([24:40–25:36]).
• Tells a prank story about presenting Kevin Kline with a photo album of crew “bored faces” to his Shakespeare recitations on set:

  "He’s such a good sport about it... He loved it."
  — Sigourney Weaver ([26:08–27:10])

Perseverance Through Adversity

• Colbert asks about being labeled “talentless” at Yale Drama. Weaver is forthright:

  "They said you have no talent and you'll never get anywhere. And that's why Sir John Gielgud hiring me meant a lot.”
  — Sigourney Weaver ([27:15–27:31])

• Her resilience:

  “I hung in there just out of spite. I thought it was so irresponsible for teachers… to make everybody feel so bad... To think your job... is to make you give up your dream, I just think is crazy.”
  — Sigourney Weaver ([27:44–28:13])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Trump’s Awards:

  "He looks like a goblin asking if it's okay to eat a third baby."
  — Stephen Colbert ([12:27])

• On Sigourney’s Early Stage Work:

  "Ingrid Bergman... used to want me to stand back to back with her, to just prove to everybody she was not as tall as I was."
  — Sigourney Weaver ([25:17])

• Overcoming Criticism:

  "I hung in there just out of spite... If someone's job is to make you give up your dream, I just think that's crazy."
  — Sigourney Weaver ([27:44–28:13])

Timestamps of Important Segments

• [04:28] – Monologue begins: Trump’s Kennedy Center Honors & satire
• [08:35] – FIFA Peace Prize & fake awards
• [17:02] – Sigourney Weaver segment begins: Avatar, tour, holiday traditions
• [20:13] – Inside the motion capture acting process
• [23:03] – Sigourney’s theater background & John Gielgud
• [24:40] – Ingrid Bergman and “The Constant Wife”
• [25:50] – Kevin Kline and backstage pranks
• [27:14] – Yale Drama School rejection and resilience

Tone

• Playful, irreverent, and sharply satirical as Colbert skewers Trump and cultural foibles.
• Warm, nostalgic, and sincere in the conversation with Sigourney Weaver, blending humor with inspiration and gratitude.

For listeners:
This episode offers a perfect mix of Colbert’s biting humor and Sigourney Weaver’s heartfelt, hilarious Hollywood stories—along with a few life lessons about persistence and believing in yourself when the world says otherwise. A must-listen for fans of celebrity interviews, behind-the-scenes tales, and political satire.