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fi! >> oh, now you're concerned. i have been warning you for decades! now beat it, i'm trying to forget! ( gulps and belches ) >> but we need you to save the planet, we still have a chance. >> did you read the u.n. report? we're screwed! by the way, anyone know elon musk? i want to catch the next rocket out of this firetrap. my advice is drink heavily and wait for the sweet darkness to come. >> is there anybody else that can help? >> let's try woodsy the owl. hey, woodsy! >> too late! i don't give a hoot, i'm drinking absolut! >> announcer: it's the "late show" with stephen colbert! tonight, delta skelta. plus stephen welcomes stephen king! and winston duke! featuring jon batiste and "stay human." and now live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert!

( cheers and applause ) ( band playing ) >> stephen: what's going on? i like it! it's like a creamsicle. good to see y'all. ( audience chanting ) stephen! stephen! stephen! stephen! stephen! stephen! stephen! stephen! >> stephen: hey! thank you, ladies and gentlemen! ( cheers and applause ) ( piano riff ) welcome, welcome one and all to the "late show." i'm your host stephen colbert. i just want to-- ( cheers and applause ) well, thank you! thank you. you're my favorite kind of people, fully vaccinated and chanting my name. ( cheers and applause ) we have-- two weeks? we've been off for two lovelywed from the news. plugged in again last night, and now i need a vacation.

( laughter ) because the news is a little rough. there's a fourth wave of coronavirus, we just got a global warming red alert for humanity, there are wildfires consuming northern california and greece, so naturally there's one question on everyone's mind: did i go to barack obama's birthday party? ( laughter ) you see-- ( cheers and applause ) >> jon: i saw. >> stephen: i know. see, this weekend obama turned 60, okay. in just 18 years, he'll be old enough to be president. ( laughter ) now, to-- he decided to celebrate by throwing this huge blowout on martha's vineyard. everybody who is anybody was going to be there, including yours truly, but-- hot et, a hot et iwhe )>>hey!-- but given the whole pandemic thing and the delta variant, a

celebrity mosh pit was maybe not the wisest choice, so obama decided to scale back the guest list for his party. he was forced to limit the invites to only his closest byonce's. ( laughter ) now, the "new york times" says that a lot of people missed out. for instance, they claim that late-night talk show hosts david letterman and conan o'brien were cut from the guest list. but you know who they say was not cut? comedian stephen colbert. ( cheers and applause ) >> jon: hey! >> stephen: yeah. i mean-- it makes sense, i am known to fill in when letterman drops out of something. ( laughter ) and, i know what you're thinking: so, steve, what was the party like? ( laughter ) i don't know. ( laughter ) i didn't ( bleep ) go. ( laughter ) there you go-- in the massive

scaling back, i got massively scaled. ( laughter ) as soon as we heard, evie said, "that makes sense, comedians should be the first people cut." and i don't think she was talking about just parties. i think she meant like lifeboats and stuff like that, too. ( laughter ) now, the news that i didn't go might be news to some people in the news. the "boston herald" reported that the guests included late-night host stephen colbert and his wife, evelyn, who also own property there. which, of course, leads to the question: so, steve, what's your house like on martha's vineyard? ( applause ) i have no idea. "boston herald," could you please send me the address and the keys and maybe the alarm code? because i'd love to stay there someday. i don't own a house on martha's vineyard. ( cheers and applause ) here's-- "daily mail," too. okay, so here's what happened, i'm sure you want to know, jon. >> jon: yeah.

>> stephen: here's what happened. we were invited honored to be invited, obviously! totally going. evie got a nice dress. i got a nice new jacket, really nice pants, expensive enough that they promised to give me an italian ass. ( laughter ) we booked a flight, got a hotel. and then, five days before the party, i got a voicemail saying they were scaling back. okay, message received. once we called them back and said "so, are we cut, or was this just an f.y.i.?" they said, no-- ( piano riff ) ( laughter ) --but we had the flight, we had the hotel, so evie wondered if we could still go to martha's vineyard, and since it was all nonrefundable, i said-- "yes, we can." ( laughter and applause ) and, i guess that's why the press thought i was still invited, because "daily mail" spotted me at the airport, in all of my celebrity glamour. ( cheers and applause ) ♪ work! you better work work, work! ♪

fantastic! and i understand why they printed those because look at those legs-- come on, baby! we know that sex sells! anyway, we didn't go to the party, but still had fun. it's a beautiful island, lovely people. it just goes to show you, kids, that if you work hard, put in your time, and get to be the number one show in late night television-- you too can get disinvited from the cool kids' party. ( cheers and applause ) by the way-- ( cheers and applause ) true story. true. by the way, mr. former president, my own 60th birthday is coming up in three years, and you, sir, are not... going to want to miss it. please come. i'd be so honored if you came. ( cheers and applause ) i'll scale me back just to make room for you. and michelle, obviously. you're lovely people, happy birthday, sir. ( applause ) it's not just obama's birthday

party. the delta variant is ruining a itir segme bds better get my shot ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ asked the lord above ♪ for mercy 'cause covid sucks a lot ♪ ♪ ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: nicely done. beautiful, beautiful. sold his soul to the devil for that song. ( laughter ) earlier this summer, it looked like the pandemic might be ending. in june, the u.s. was averaging about 11,000 cases a day, but thanks to the delta variant, we're right back in some "muddy waters," because now the number is over 100,000. hold on one second, let me get that-- okay. it was 11,000-- it was 11,000

the beginning of may. it was 107,000 two months ago. it's got a reproduction rate of r-eight, carry the one, that equals-- ( clicking ) ( laughter ) oh my god, someone else touched this machine! i don't-- okay, all right, all right, there you go. there you go, buddy. there you go. oh, oh, i've missed you vodka hands. ( laughter and applause ) this fourth wave is being caused by the delta variant, which has a shorter incubation period and spreads much faster than covid classic, as one epidemiologist

explained: >> this is maybe the most contagious virus that we've ever seen in living memory. >> stephen: yes, delta is going through america faster than mono through a high school drama club. ( laughter ) but, of course, he's just one guy. what does he know? his name is only-- dr. larry brilliant. ( laughter and applause ) i want a second opinion that says everything is going to be okay. somebody call dr. bobby dumbass. as with all bad news, there's bad, and then there's florida, which has broken its own record-- ( audience reacts ) >> jon: wow. >> stephen: either you're big fans of florida, or you're not. i can't tell. florida has broken its own record for new coronavirus cases, look how red and inflamed that thing is.

( laughter ) someone better rub some ointment on the panhandle! one tv doctor explained it this way: >> it's so high in florida that i think that if florida were another country, we would have to consider banning travel from florida to the united states. >> stephen: good luck! ( cheers and applause ) no. you can clap all you want, you will never keep floridians out. you could build a wall, but they'd just pound mojitos and banana boat right over it. ( laughter ) now, there's one florida man who's not worried, that's governor and caveman asking-- ( booing ) : "hd for booing ( ron desa.desasn't wried. he says that the spike is seasonal, as floridians spend more time together indoors to escape the summer heat.

yeah, it's just like when the governor of pompeii announced, "hey guys! ignore the rain of ash! it's just volcano season! okay, let's all make a fun pose for no reason!" ( laughter ) ( cheers and applause ) sad-- too soon? too soon? it's not just the plague that keeps getting worse. it's also new york governor and guy hearing-- ( booing ) that's called an insta-poll we did right there. ( laughter ) new york governor and guy hearing the news about andrew cuomo-- andrew cuomo. ( laughter ) but he may not be governor much longer given the report that just dropped from the new york attorney general, which found that cuomo sexually harassed multiple current and former staffers as well as women who did not work for his administration. so, he harassed only two kinds

of women: those who worked for him and those who do not. ( laughter ) the report confirms accusations made by 11 women against cuomo, and includes disturbing details like he allegedly, ran two fingers across the chest of an energy company employee, grabbed the rear of an unnamed employee and asked an aide if she had piercings anywhere other than her ears. interesting question, governor. follow up: do you have piercings anywhere other than your nipples? ( laughter ) joke's based on a true story. ( laughter ) the day the report dropped, the governor responded in a lengthy pre-recorded video that maybe didn't address all the accusations. >> the "new york times" published a front-page picture of me touching a woman's face at a wedding and then kissing her on the cheek. that is not front-page news.

i have been making the same gesture in public all of my life. i actually learned it from my mother and my father. it is meant to convey warmth, nothing more. indeed, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of photos of me using that exact same gesture. i do it with everyone-- black and white, young and old, straight and l.g.b.t.q. powerful people, friends, strangers, people who i meet on stephen: ( as cuomo ) "i'm not a harasser because i do it to everyone. ( laught black, white, straight, gay, consenting, non-consenting,

those who see it coming, those who are surprised, sleeping people, people who are awake, but wishing this were all a bad dream! i learned it from my folks! it's a family recipe!" also, kissing people on the cheek is not what he's being accused of. that's like jeffrey dahmer apologizing for not having a permit to grill. ( laughter ) now, in light of the report, many democrats have called for cuomo to resign, including president joe biden. you hear that? joe biden knows you don't touch women like that. you smell their hair and get back to work. ( laughter ) ( cheers and applause ) we've got a great show for you tonight. my guests are stephen king and "black panther" star winston duke. but when we come back, should celebrities wash their children? the answer may surprise you. ( cheers and applause ) ( band playing )

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new immune twenty-four hour plus has longer lasting vitamin c. plus, herbal and other immune superstars. only from nature's bounty. ( cheers and applause ) ( band playing )athe crossroads down to get my shot ♪ yeah, we're down at the crossroads ♪ better watch your snot whoo! ♪ i said, lord, have mercy 'cause covid sucks a lot ♪ ( band playing ) ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: jon batiste and stay human everyone! ( cheers and applause ) goodness, my goodness! louis cato, louis boucher, bringing it hard tonight over there. >> jon: cato!

>> stephen: jon, good to see you again. it's good to see you again. i love the outfit you've got on tonight. >> jon: oh, yes. >> stephen: you seem like strawberry gelato. >> jon: oh, yeah, yeah. >> stephen: i like it. >> jon: wow! it's summertime, i want to feel good, it's summer. so much going on in this world, we've got to feel good in this life. >> stephen: we do, we do. ( cheers and applause ) >> jon: lift it up. >> stephen: it's up to you, it's up to you to stay positive and hopeful. you know, i'm very positive about tonight, our guests tonight-- i'm looking at these questions here. i'm talking to the great, the one and only, mr. stephen king tonight. ( cheers and applause ) i also get to talk to this guy, his name is winston duke. you saw "black panther?" >> jon: yeah. >> stephen: you know m'baku? >> jon: yes. >> stephen: m'baku, the mountain tribe? >> jon: absolutely. >> stephen: m'baku is here. he's here and he's a big guy. ( cheers and applause ) he's not just big. he's big in the movies but you can't ever tell in the movies because you cab see a big guy in

a movie and you meet him, and he's like five-foot, two-inches. >> jon: like the rock. >> stephen: this guy is six-foot, five-inches and, and-a-half. yeah, he is actually big. we have boku m'baku tonight. >> jon: oh, boku. >> stephen: exactly. >> jon: boku, boku. >> stephen: so, ladies and gentlemen, it has been two weeks since i have been gone? two weeks. and they have been hard for those of you who get all your sports news from me. ( laughter ) first of all, why do you do that? second, while we were gone, the olympics happened and they were great. as always, i'm inspired by the athletes and the feeling of international brotherhood. because the olympics are really about the fact that all of us, no matter our country, have so much more in common than we realize. and it's in that spirit of global harmony that i want to say america won more gold medals than china, baby! suck it, xi jinping! u-s-a! u-s-a! u-s-a! u-s-a! k s-a!

e totea d. and with cases on the rise, both the vaccinated and unvaccinated have the same question: what kind of bubble baths are celebrities taking? ( laughter ) i don't know. again, i did not go to the party. but someone has the answers. and i'll tell you all about it in my new segment: "a-list tub time with the soapy stars." ( rubber ducky squeaking ) first in the tub, ashton kutcher who in a recent interview revealed he and his significant scrubber, mila kunis, don't wash their two children every day. okay. not the kunis-kutcher bubble bath reveal we were hoping for. but kunis explained, "if you can see the dirt on them, clean them. otherwise, there's no point." ( laughter ) okay, that sounds less like a policy for cleaning your kids and more like the policy for cleaning your buick. "eh, it's supposed to rain

tonight. just leave mckenzie in the driveway." this interview sent major shock waves through the celebrity scrub-o-sphere. kristen bell sided with team don't-bathe-your-kids, saying "i'm a big fan of waiting for the stink. once you catch a whiff, that's biology's way of letting you know you need to clean it up." look, i don't like to comment on anyone else's parenting, but i will point out that both mila kunis and kristen bell did star in the film "bad moms." ( laughter and applause ) then, a friend of the show, jake gyllenhaal hopped into the controversy tub, telling "vanity fair"-- "more and more i find bathing to be less necessary. we naturally clean ourselves." jake, either you're thinking of cats... or i had no idea you were that flexible. ( cheers and applause )

he could do it. i believe it. he can do it all. i bet he could do it. interestingly, gyllenhaal said all this while advertising his new fragrance line. that fragrance: b. eau. ( laughter ) but folks, if you're in a lather about celebrities who won't lather, there's good news from dwayne "the rock" johnson, who says he showers three times a day. i assume, i assume that's because it takes three attempts for the water to cover his entire body. one shower's just for my traps. dwayne went into extreme detail describing his routine, tweeting: "shower-- cold-- when i roll outta bed to get my day rollin'. shower-- warm-- after my workout before work. shower-- hot-- after i get home from work. face wash, body wash, exfoliate." and because he's the rock, his loofah is a hay bale. ( laughter )

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or thoughtful. sensitive, or strong. progress isn't either or progress is everything. this guy here is busy working on our state's recovery. you see he lives in california and by vacationing in california he's supporting our businesses and communities. which means every fruity skewer is like another sweet nail in the rebuilding of our economy. hammer away craftsman. calling all californians. keep your vacation here and help our state get back to work. and please travel responsibly. homelessness, housing, taxes, and help our state get b water, electricity, crime, wildfires. [sfx: bear roar] gavin, you've failed. we have to immediately cut taxes twenty-five percent. fix housing and homelessness. and make life in california affordable again.

i'm a businessman, the only cpa running. shouldn't we choose ability this time? we must have a competent governor with management experience and outsider integrity. [sfx: bear roar] that describes only john cox. ( band playing ) >> stephen: hey, everybody! ( cheers and applause ) ♪ ♪ ♪ welcome back to the "late show." ladies and gentlemen, my first guest tonight is known as "the king of horror" and has written more than 60 novels. his latest is called "billy summers." please welcome back to the "late show," stephen king! ( cheers and applause ) ( band playing )

(♪ "summertime" ♪) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: nice to see you again. thanks for being here. >> it's been so long since i have been in front of real people i just expected-- >> stephen: it takes a little getting used to. ( cheers and applause ) >> it's really sort of wonderful. >> stephen: it is. it is. human contact, it's a rare commodity. >> it's a hell of a zoom screen, i can tell you that. ( laughter ) >> stephen: we have spoken over the zoom, we've done some interviews over the zoom-- >> we did, yeah. >> stephen: for the last 16, whatever, however long it was we were all locked down. you know, for the people out there who don't know, you've got a place up in maine. you're associated with the state of maine, you've lived there your entire life. are property values shooting

through the roof? because i hear people want to leave the big cities and go the coastal towns of maine. i hear you can't touch the property there. >> sure, no, it's tough. it's tough. property is-- boop! through the roof. >> stephen: yeah, have you thought about turning your place into an airbnb or something like that? ( laughter ) you could turn some coin on your house being an airbnb, i bet. >> yeah, but there are a lot of skeletons in the closet, man. >> stephen: yes. ( cheers and applause ) >> i don't know! >> stephen: you can check out anytime you like but-- >> you can never really leave! that's right. >> stephen: well, you've written over 60 novels but you're also really prolific on twitter. i follow you on twitter. people enjoy your twitter feed. you have been particularly eloquent lately about governor ron desantis of florida. is there a chance in the future we might see a florida governor as a villain-- ( laughter ) of one of your novels? ( cheers and applause ) >> well, that's entirely knowhe guy fairly up closee, i

because we live half of the year in florida. now, i didn't really want to go, but once you get to be 65 and you don't play tennis very well, it's the law. >> stephen: they come and get you. >> yeah, they come and get you anyway, yeah. >> stephen: you said this recently, you said: "desantis policies are right- wing, 'the individual rules and to hell with what happens' policies. they're turning a beautiful state into a big i.c.u. ward where even healthy people can barely breathe." >> yeah. well, it isn't just covid. covid is bad enough. but, you know, there was a retainment pool at piney point, and nobody took care of it, and it got old, and it was going to burst. and, so, they vented it. this is only desantis could do this. only desantis could really think of this. they vented it into tampa bay, and, as a result, the red tide

is so bad there-- there's no questions about masks on the west coast of florida because the red tide is so bad that you have to wear a mask, and there are tons and tons of fish that are dead on the beach, and, so, it isn't just covid. ron desantis is probably not the brightest bulb in the chandelier at the best of times. ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: not a evil genius. >> no, i wouldn't say so. >> stephen: not a master mind. >> he's got that deer in the head lights look somehow. ( laughter ) so, uh-- >> stephen: deer in the head lights hoping that's two motorcycles that are going to go right by him. >> that's exactly right. ( laughter ) >> stephen: as a writer, how is the reality of covid and what we in the united states and what everyone around the world has gone through, this unprecedented thing in the last 100 years... how do you think that will affect your fiction or really

the fiction of any writers, because how could you write about the time we're in right now and not include that? >> well, i started "billy summers," the new one, in 2000 and-- oh, thank you! >> stephen: there it is. >> god bless you! >> stephen: "billy summers," there you go. ( cheers and applause ) >> god bless you! >> stephen: it's so important, stephen king, it's so important to get out there the news that you write books. >> that's right, that's right. ( laughter ) because, you know, the thing is, when you publish a new book, you've got to get out somewhere and shake your ass a little bit. >> stephen: that's right. >> you got to do it. >> stephen: work that moneymaker, tell me about it. >> shake that moneymaer, baby. anyway, i started in 2019, and there was no covid then, and i had a couple of characters that i had to get off the stage for reasons that have to do with the plot. we won't go there. but, so, i said, you know, i tell you what, i'll put them on a cruise ship-- and then covid came along, and i said, no, this is probably not going to work. so what i did was i took the

whole book, which was set in 2020, and shoved it back to 2019. now, writers are not going to be able to do that for long. sooner or later, somebody's going to have to deal with this thing head on. >> stephen: we have to take a quick break, but please don't go away. when we come back i'll ask stephen king what stephen king favorite stephen king stories are. ( cheers and applause ) ( band playing ) fries and a sprite, with sweet 'n sour and barbecue sauce. but i like to mix it all up. so i'm gonna put some fries on my big mac. or top my fries with chicken mcnuggets. ♪ that's right ♪ or make a totally new sandwich, like this: as long as you're doing you, you're doing the saweetie meal. ♪ ♪ i'm lovin' it for your best back to school smile, crest has you covered.

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( band playing ) ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: hey, everybody! ♪ ♪ ♪ welcome back to the "late show!" i am here with the author of the new novel "billy summers," mr. stephen king. at one point the character billy summers here says, "writing is also a kind of war. the story is what you carry, and every time you add to it, it gets heavier. all over the world, there are half-finished books because the work got too heavy." have you, stephen king, experienced that heaviness? >> yeah. the worst case, i wrote a book called "the stand." >> stephen: very salient, yes. ( cheers and applause ) >> yeah-- it was about a mutating flu virus and any similarities to what's going on now are too close for comfort. but i got about halfway through that book and i got these people to boulder, colorado, and by that time i had a huge cast of characters who were 20 or 25,

and i thought, i don't know what i'm going to do with these people. they've come to rest in this one place, and the book stayed on a shelf for about three weeks while i just went for long walks and tried to figure out what to do with the story. and the worst thing was i was thinking, "what if this thing never gets done?" you talk about heavy, that was pretty heavy. an then i remember something that raymond chandler said. he said, "when you don't know what to do next, bring on the man with the gun." i thought, well, what if somebody blows up about half of these troublesome people, i can deal with the ones that are left, and that's what i did. ( laughter and applause ) >> stephen: that's nice. that's simple. all right, your fans all have their favorite stephen king books. do you have-- >> we hope. >> stephen: they do or else they wouldn't be fans. what-- do you have a favorite? what are your top five books or

short stories of stephen king, stephen king? ( laughter ) >> well, i think-- >> stephen: write this down, carve this in stone. >> my favorite short story would be called "survivor type" which is about a physician who gets stranded on a little island and he's smuggling heroin, and he's starving, so he eats himself piece by piece. ( audience laughs nervously ) >> stephen: i like that, for the whole family. okay, one-- >> that is family friendly. that could be a disney cartoon. >> stephen: sure. >> i liked "misery," the novel "misery" a lot. that was kind of fun. ( applause ) it was a fun book to write. this is like a led zeppelin concert, sort of like-- play "free bird" you know, and they all clap, it's good. >> stephen: any more? that's two. >> "misery"-- i like "lisey's story" very much. te about it. >> it's a series now streaming apple+ and i held on to that for a long time. "the stand"-- and there's one

called "stand by me: the body." ( applause ) >> stephen: and-- >> and "billy summers," the current one, yeah. >> stephen: and "billy summers," the book "billy summers," one of his top five, is available now. the man is stephen king, everybody. stephen, thank you so much for being here! we'll be right back with "black panther," star winston duke! it's m'baku, baby! ( cheers and applause ) ( band playing ) but your stomach doesn't. that disagreement ends right now. lactaid ice cream is the creamy, real ice cream you love that will never mess with your stomach. lactaid ice cream. get ready. it's time for the savings event of the year. the homeandautobundle xtravafestasaveathon! at this homeandautobundle xtravafestasaveathon, there's no telling what we might bundle! at weird hut ur u anutobundleke heling vaon band we might bundle! for the deal that started forever ago and will probably never end. homeandautobundle xtravafestasaveathon.

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>> stephen: everybody, welcome back! ( cheers and applause ) welcome back, ladies and gentlemen! my next guest is an actor you know as m'baku from "black panther" and "avengers: infinity war." he now stars in the film "nine days." >> it's about the time that you spend. you have been here a few days, but you've lived every second with honesty and intensity. there's no shame in that. now-- i want you to think of what you saw on those tvs and pick a moment truly meaningful for you. i know it's not much, but if you allow me, i will do my best to re-create that moment for your experience. >> stephen: pl w "the late show," winston duke!

( cheers and applause ) ( band playing ) (♪ "sir duke" ♪) ♪ ♪ ♪ >> hey! oh, my gosh! thank you! >> stephen: have a seat! >> i have to tell you-- >> stephen: yes, sir. >> i've always wanted to do this, like, james brown band thing. is that okay? >> stephen: like, what thing? >> hit me one time-- boom! >> stephen: okay, jon, are you guys cool with that? >> jon: yeah! >> you guys are okay with that? >> stephen: winston-- >> jon: let's do it. >> stephen: they're ready anytime you want. >> okay. ( cheers and applause ) >> hit me one time! ♪ ♪ ♪ hit me two times. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ hit me three times! ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ whoo! okay! ( cheers and applause ) ( laughter ) all right! >> stephen: nicely done.

>> okay! all right! ( cheers and applause ) >> jon: that was right on. >> i am now putty in your hands. >> stephen: that does feel good. you're known-- a lot of people first knew you from playing m'baku-- >> yes. >> stephen: as the leader jabari tribe, the mountain tribe-- >> yes. cheersnd applause)heor >> thank you.trou, that before you played one of the great wakanda warriors, that you used to lie about your height to make yourself smaller? >> all the time. >> stephen: why-- what was the problem? >> it was just that, you know-- i'm six-foot, five-inches and, and-a-half and the, and "a-half" is a lot of difference. it always felt that it so much for people that they would think it's intimidating. so i stopped even saying the number, and i would just say, i'm the "rock's" height, i'm you know-- i'm someone else's height. that's how i would put it down. so i would try to make it seem like it was normalized before it was. >> stephen: thinking they wouldn't notice how tall you were when you came in or did you

always just-- were you always there before them and stay seated? >> maybe i've always been there. >> stephen: yeah, may be. yeah. >> stephen: did it actually help? >> no, it did. i would say i'm six-foot, four-inches. >> stephen: so born and raised in trinidad and tobago? >> yes, tobago. >> stephen: but i understand that, the new film, which is called "nine days," the nine or nine days is significant in the culture that you grew up in-- in what way? >> yeah, so in my culture in tobago, in trinidad and tobago, it's believed that when a loved one dies, or someone that's close to you dies-- it takes them nine days for that spirit to move on. so, within that nine days, they'll visit you in a dream, they'll say goodbye, they'll do something, and, you know, that will be like their way of moving on and detaching from this plane of existence. >> stephen: growing up in trinidad and tobago, what were

your influences? what did you see in entertainment or performance that you went, oh, i want to do that, this inspires me? >> so much, actually. so, many imports are from america. so we have country music, country music is big in-- >> stephen: really? wow! >> yeah, it's actually-- we got all the, like, shania twain, i grew up listening to garth brooks and all these crazy things. >> stephen: sure. >> and then, soap operas. so, "the bold and the beautiful." >> stephen: "young and the restless." >> "young and restless," "general hospital." and like, everybody was, like, in love with victor. do you remember victor from "the young and the restless?" and every guy wanted to be toxic like victor, yeah. ( laughter ) >> stephen: it was like, that's it-- i want to be victor growing up? >> well, the guy everyone really wanted t was ts guy from a show called "santa barbara." do you remember that "santa barbara?" >> stephen: not one of my stories, but go ahead. >> okay, well "santa barbara" was the show with this guy, this

hispanic guy and went by the name cruz. and he wore these really tight, like, skinny fit jeans and ever since, every skinny tight fit jeans was called cruz's. ( laughter ) >> stephen: everywhere, or only in trinidad and tobago? >> in trinidad, not everywhere. but every time you wear something tight, they be like, oh, man, look at those cruz! look at that cruz! yeah, so all over the place-- they became cruz. >> stephen: have you ever performed observe a soap opera? >> never, never. but i think it might have been in my future at one point. >> stephen: i bet at this point, you might be able to sneak in for a cameo. >> i might, i might. trinidadian culture is very much like a soap opera, though. >> stephen: yeah. >> like, the way they fight, the neighbors, they'll come out of their house, and they'll pull out a machete and they'll, like, scrape it on this ground. and they'll be, like-- if you cross this line, i will kill you! ( laughter ) >> stephen: i would watch that soap opera. >> everyone does. it's community theater. it's community theater. and then, like, two days later, you find out they're just cousins.

( laughter ) hit me one time! ♪ ♪ ♪ boom! >> stephen: the new movie is called "nine days." >> yeah. >> stephen: what's it about? >> so, short and sweet, "nine days" is about a man in the afterlife tasked with the job of interviewing spirits for the opportunity to be born, and the interview process takes place over nine days. >> stephen: and you're-- >> i am that man. i play will and the story is inspired by the director's own personal story. his uncle suicided at the age of 50, and in his family, all he was told was don't be like your uncle, your uncle was weak. so as he went through his own mental health issues, and depression, he looked into his uncle's life and he wrote this story to redefine the narrative of his uncle because his uncle's life was essentially reduced to this one act-- >> stephen: sure. >> not a full life, just this

one act of pain. and he said, i wanted to rewrite the life by giving him another life in the afterlife so he could deal with that, some of those shadows, and that character is will, and i play will. >> stephen: well, winston, lovely to meet you. >> absolute pleasure. ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: "nine days" is in theaters now. winston duke, everybody! we'll be right back! ( cheers and applause ) ( band playing )

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>> stephen: good night. ( cheers and applause ) ( band playing ) captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (rnin baltimore" ♪) ♪ oh, oh, oh woke up today feeling okay, wow this is new ♪ oh, oh,go