Colbert Shaves His Beard Off, Talks Emmys and ‘Lord of the Rings’ Movie on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’

A free and unburdened Stephen Colbert was back on late night on Tuesday, but this time he was (sort of) answering the questions rather than asking them. Colbert appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and took part in a lengthy interview that took in the Emmys, his beard, smooching Jimmy Kimmel, smooching his wife, his upcoming Lord of the Rings movie, and an update on what happened to all his Late Show suits. Kimmel began the interview by asking his longtime friend and former late night peer if he missed late night, to which Colbert shot back: “Nope! I will say, I have an opportunity to not think about the news every day, and I took it.” They then talked about the 7 wins The Late Show with Stephen Colbert scored at Sunday’s Emmy Awards, for what was the show’s shock final season. Discussing the Emmys, the pair joked about sharing a “beard-on-beard” smooch that wasn’t caught by the TV cameras and the “endangered” status of late night hosts, particularly after Colbert’s cancellation and the continual speculation around the future of Jimmy Kimmel Live! Left picture: Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and John Oliver. Right picture: Kimmel and Colbert smooch at the Emmys. Todd Williamson/NBC via Getty Images; Kevin Winter/Getty Images They recounted how at the Emmy ceremony a photographer gathered the snowy-bearded quartet of Colbert, Kimmel, Jon Stewart and John Oliver together for a photo and then joked that they were the “endangered table” before he snapped the picture. After replaying Colbert’s Emmy acceptance speech, Kimmel playfully lambasted his friend for the giving a sweet paean to his wife Evie, which made all the other late night hosts look bad with their own wives. Colbert revealed that it wasn’t all a bed of roses at home, and that Evie “hates” his beard. “She warned me, ‘If you grow a beard, the kiss count’s going to go way down.'” He lamented that “smoochy time” has been much shorter. Also he said he had promised his wife that if he won an Emmy, he would shave off the beard. Kimmel saw his opening and asked if Colbert would shave his beard on the show, to which, he replied: “All right, that’s fairly scandalous, but all right. From the neck up, right?” Stephen Colbert and and Evie Colbert after the 2026 Emmy Awards. Monica Schipper/Getty Images Kimmel then asked about CBS and whether anyone from the network congratulated their once star man Colbert for the Emmy wins. “I am not familiar with that organization. Thank you for asking!” Colbert joked, avoiding the question entirely. Colbert did reveal that CBS allowed to keep his suits from the Late Show, and that he now has 40 suits from his time on the show in storage. “I don’t know what to do with them. If anyone just got out of law school and needs a suit, please call Jimmy, he’ll get the message to me,” he said. Colbert then talked about the “beautiful tan suit” he wore for his manager and Kimmel’s manager James “Baby Doll” Dixon’s daughter’s wedding, and how Kimmel spilt red wine all over it. Colbert said he was worried he wouldn’t be able to get the stains out to wear the suit to the opening of the Obama Library in Chicago in June, as he had hoped to get a laugh from the former president for referencing the ridiculous tan suit controversy. Stephen Colbert and David Letterman look on during the dedication ceremony for the opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in John Lewis Plaza on June 18, 2026 in Chicago. Win McNamee/Getty Images Colbert said that after the Obama Library opening he had lunch with Stephen Spielberg, and the legendary director tried to pry information out of him about his upcoming Lord of the Rings film. “Spielberg says to me, “All right, tell me everything about the Lord of the Rings film. Tell me everything.” And you sign all kinds of NDAs before you’re allowed anywhere near one of these sets, and he knows that, right? And you know, there are lawyers, and I’m new to all of this, so I was super nervous,” said Colbert. “So I just said, “Okay, so here’s what happens: Frodo teams up with a time-traveling dinosaur!” And he goes, ‘You can tell me, I’m Steven Spielberg, I know Peter Jackson.’ And I was terrified! I was afraid I would get in trouble, so I didn’t tell him anything. And then later I told our writing partner Philippa Boyens, and she goes, ‘You idiot! He might have had a good idea, he’s Steven Spielberg!'” Colbert then joked, “Listen, Steven, if you’re watching, I’m ready to take your call!” Reflecting on his time in New Zealand making the movie, Colbert didn’t, however, give any major updates on the film, but he did reveal that his son Peter McGee, who is co-writing the tentatively titled The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past, knows much more Rings lore than he does, which came something as a shock to him. Stephen Colbert on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!‘ Disney/Randy Holmes After finally shaving his beard off, Colbert concluded the interview by gifting Kimmel something special from his show. Colbert recounted how, back when he was doing The Colbert Report, the people at Marvel had given him a replica of Captain America’s shield for being a “patriot.” He said he the shield had featured on both The Colbert Report and later on The Late Show, but he was now gifting Kimmel the shield. A clearly touched Kimmel said he would permanently mount the shield on the set of Jimmy Kimmel Live! “I want to be able to see it when I’m doing the monologue every night,” Kimmel said of the shield. “And so I’m going to put it right there for all time, or at least however much time we have left!”