11 Things You Didn't Know About Stephen Colbert

Even if you watched every episode of his show, you probably know very little about Stephen Colbert. After all, the comedian was completely in character for The Colbert Report's entire run, and so despite being on the air for over a decade, fans were never quite sure what the real Stephen was like.

They're about to find out. Now he's abandoned his schtick and is now the host of the biggest late night talk show in the world, so America will soon be meeting the actual Stephen Colbert for the first time. The Comedy Central character was an arrogant and ridiculously patriotic conservative, but he was also rather uninformed and oblivious. Colbert the person is a smart, thoughtful, kind man who absolutely loves Neutral Milk Hotel. Needless to say, it's going to be quite an adjustment.

However, while in a lot of cases the character was the complete opposite of him, some elements of his fictional persona actually did reflect the real guy and his personality. Ahead of his premiere on CBS, it's time to get to know the genuine Colbert: where he comes from, what he likes, and how that might influence his take on hosting a late night show. Here are 11 surprising facts you probably didn't know about Stephen Colbert. 

Comedy often comes out of tragedy, and Colbert is no stranger to tragedy: When he was 10 years old, Stephen's father and two of his brothers were killed in a plane crash. He told Oprah that at such a young age, he didn't fully process the loss, but he began to feel it deeply when he went off to college.

Yet in the face of such profound sadness, Colbert found something magical: comedy. As he once said, you can't laugh and be afraid at the same time, and so he found solace in making jokes to alleviate the suffering. He would tell jokes to his mother to try to cheer her up, one of his first experiences with performing as a comedian.

"I think there's no doubt that I do what I do because I wanted to make her happy," he said. "No doubt." 

He points to one of his favorite J.R.R Tolkien quotes to summarize his attitude: What punishments of God are not gifts? "So it would be ungrateful not to take everything with gratitude," he told GQ. "It doesn't mean you want it. [...] But you can't change everything about the world. You certainly can't change things that have already happened.”

His mother also helped him to work through the tragedy. "Everybody suffers," he said, "and if you can accept your suffering, then you'll just understand people better."