10 Incredible Stephen Colbert Moments That Prove He’s Perfect For The Late Show

The Colbert Report writers were always great at embracing screw-ups and the unexpected in general. That was the case with the Suq Madiq bit, the Daft Punk cancellation ordeal, and it was also true of Colbert's "wrist strong" runner during summer 2007.  Before a show one night, Colbert was running around the studio when he tripped and broke his wrist. Of course, he and his writers immediately saw this an an opportunity for comedic gold, and so the Stephen Colbert character immediately made his small injury into a huge deal with a dramatic reenactment, a rant against wrist violence in Hollywood, having his doctor on the show, and finally, introducing the Stephen Colbert Wrist Strong bracelet. 

His goal then became to get as many famous people as possible to wear one and to show their support for Stephen's minor wrist injury, and the bracelet made it all the way to Jimmy Carter, Al Gore, Barack Obama, and even into space. He also hyped up the removing the cast, which at that point was full of celebrity signatures. Any other comedian would just take a few days off the show after the incident and move on, but not Colbert: he managed to turn a minor set accident into a major event, and it became one of the Colbert Report's most memorable sagas.