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Stephen Colbert: The new king of late night?

The inspiration behind "The Colbert Report" character
The inspiration behind "The Colbert Report" character 02:09

When Stephen Colbert takes the helm at CBS's "Late Show" Tuesday, many fans will be watching to see who Comedy Central's "fake" newsman is when he's playing himself.

Back in 2006, Morley Safer interviewed the real Colbert about who inspired his "wild-eyed crusader" character. Colbert listed cable news pundits, including Fox News' Bill O'Reilly and MSNBC's Joe Scarborough. The only difference? A "shame" factor, Colbert says in the video above.

"I wish I could be as shameless as the real guys," he says. "But I have a shred of concern that I might be perceived as a jerk, and I don't think they do because I think they believe what they're saying."

Why 60 Minutes makes Stephen Colbert "suspicious" 01:03

When asked what his character from "The Colbert Report" would say about 60 Minutes, Colbert described the news magazine as the "East Coast, liberal, media elite." He went on further, expressing his skepticism of the program's research methods.

"If you were right, would you need to dig that much for the information? You know? Aren't you just mining for what you want the story to be, as opposed to what we want the story to be? Colbert says. "You're way too interested in what actually happened, as opposed to what all of us would like to think happened. I think he's pretty askance at you guys."

Stephen Colbert recounts his most painful experience 03:05

The interview took a more serious turn when Safer asked Colbert if there was any truth to the theory that "all good comedians have some painful experiences in their lives." Colbert agreed with the theory, recounting what it was like to lose his father and two brothers in a plane crash when he was 10 years old.

"I think anybody who's had a loss like that, it never goes away," Colbert says. "I think that feeds into a sense that acceptance, or blind acceptance of authority is not easy for me. Because the normal status of the world, at a very young age, made no sense to me."

The above videos were produced for 60 Minutes Overtime by Craig Crawford and Evie Salomon.

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