Skip to main content

Stephen Colbert's hilarious commencement speeches show his style evolve over the years

Stephen Colbert's hilarious commencement speeches show his style evolve over the years

/

As Stephen Colbert's run on The Late Show approaches, we're seeing him out of character

Share this story

When Stephen Colbert the Human said goodbye to Stephen Colbert the Character last year, fans were curious what the comedian would be like without the fictional personality that, for a decade on and off The Colbert Report, had been the more outspoken of the two.

We'd already seen hints of the real Colbert at commencement speeches, where the character and the person blurred together. This year, for the first time, Colbert gave a commencement speech totally free of Stephen Colbert the personality. The change in tone is slight, but it's there. At least I think it is. Now I'm questioning myself. Why must you do this to me, fair reader?

How about you compare them yourself? At the very worst, you'll watch a comedian at the top of his game give inspiring advice.

Here's Colbert's 2013 speech at University of Virginia:

And here's Colbert's 2011 speech at Northwestern University: