[ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> jimmy: my thanks to anne hathaway, gael garcia bernal, madison bumgarner. stevie nicks once again! [ cheers and applause ] the greatest. the greatest. and the roots from philadelphia, you guys. the roots are always here. pcpc stay tuned for "late night with seth meyers." thank you for watching. have a great night. i hope to see you tomorrow. thank you. [ cheers and applause ] ♪

from broadway's "hedwig and the angry inch," michael c. hall, author joe hill, featuring the 8g band with fred armisen. [ cheers and applause ] and now, here he is, seth meyers. ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: good evening, everyone! [ cheers and applause ] i'm seth meyers. this "late night." how's everybody doing tonight? is everybody good?

more importantly, did everyone have a good halloween? [ cheers and applause ] all right. that's right, friday was halloween, which means saturday was my favorite day of the year -- sad spiderman walking home day. [ laughter ] nothing more fun than watching a sad spiderman walk home. a friday night at a party, you might think, "oh, my god, that's spiderman." on saturday morning, in the cold light of day, that is a man in a spiderman suit. that is not spiderman. tomorrow are midterm elections. so it's very important, don't forget to head down to your local polling place and cancel out your dad's vote. [ laughter ] very important. [ cheers and applause ] don't ever let anyone tell you your vote doesn't count. you can cancel out your dad's vote. [ laughter ] this is pretty interesting. a new poll found that democrats and republicans also tend to disagree on restaurants, which

was interesting to me. for example, democrats tend to like olive garden while republicans prefer restaurants. [ laughter ] this goes to show you. this goes to show you. [ applause ] pretty amazing -- the new york marathon held yesterday. the winning time -- two hours, 10 minutes and 55 seconds. yeah. [ cheers and applause ] even more amazing, that is exactly how long it took my cab to get from 14th street to 19th street. [ light laughter ] some rough weather news. it's that time of year. we're going to start hearing more and more rough weather news. this is the beginning of it. this morning a snowstorm knocked out power for more than 130,000 people in maine. bad news for the guy in maine whose only source of warmth is his ebola quarantined girlfriend. [ laughter and applause ]

not great news for him. i was surprised to hear this. today taylor swift pulled all of her albums from the streaming service, spotify. so now, if you want to hear taylor swift, you'll just have to listen to pandora, buy her album, watch mtv, or walk into any storage unit any time. [ laughter ] or feel free to come in the shower with me because i'm singing -- pretty much every time i go in there. [ cheers and applause ] i like that song so much -- i'm taking two showers a day. [ laughter ] just to get the extra session. to sing it a second time. this is really sweet. i love romance -- if you watch this show, you know. i love romance, and this is really sweet. on sunday a couple got married on a southwest airlines flight. they didn't want to get married, but the seats were so close together, they had to. [ laughter ] they legally had to. [ laughter ]

this is just nuts. members of the danish national chamber orchestra -- the danish national chamber orchestra released a video of themselves performing while eating the world's hottest chili peppers. in response, the red hot chili peppers released a video of themselves eating a danish. [ laughter and applause ] that's what we -- that's what we in the business call a dumb joke. [ laughter ] and finally, the first computer -- this is amazing to me. the first computer ever built by steve jobs will go up for auction in december and is expected to sell for half a million dollars. or $750,000 if you get apple care. [ laughter ] ladies and gentlemen, this is the 8g band! ♪

[ cheers and applause ] >> seth: so good to see everyone. we talked about it in the monologue. new york city marathon was this weekend. our own bassist -- sid, you ran the marathon. you did it. [ cheers and applause ] they gave -- you finished. you've joined the club. you finished. you got a medal. you did it all. congratulations. we're so very proud of you. [ cheers and applause ] fred, you also -- i know you didn't run the marathon this weekend, but you do so many incredible things. and my favorite thing about monday, especially, is talking to you about what you did over the course of the weekend. and you accomplished so much that, to be honest, my only fear is that the people at home watching might think you're making it up off the top of your head. [ laughter ] which i know -- i know not to be true.

but is this right? did you participate in a completely different kind of marathon? >> fred: i did. >> seth: you did? >> fred: yes. i was at jfk baggage claim. [ laughter ] and i did this walking-run around where the bags come down, baggage claim "a." and i made a record time. [ laughter ] >> seth: so, i'm sorry -- [ applause ] but, yeah, congratulations. that's very exciting. so baggage claim "a" -- so one baggage carousel. >> fred: yes. >> seth: what was the course? >> fred: okay, so the course is right to the right of the oval. right? and then, it's just along it. and then, in between some of the other people who are collecting their bags. and then right back where i started again. >> seth: so they don't even clear the area out of people waiting for their luggage. >> fred: no, and i won. i won. [ laughter ] >> seth: wow. >> fred: it was great. [ cheers and applause ] yeah. >> seth: how -- again, please do not take this the wrong way.

was it possible you were the only participant, and was it possible no one else knew this was happening? >> fred: yeah, that would be the case. [ laughter ] >> seth: you won. a winner's win, and you won. congratulations. >> fred: thank you. thanks. [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: we have such a great show for you tonight. kerry washington is here. [ cheers and applause ] i don't know if you've heard about kerry washington. she's going to be here tonight. she's one of my favorite people. also stopping by, the star of the hit broadway musical "hedwig and the angry inch," michael c. hall will be joining us. [ cheers and applause ] can't wait to talk to him. and also here to talk about his new film, "horns" author joe hill will be joining us tonight. [ cheers and applause ] very -- joe hill -- he's a writer i love. wrote one of my favorite comic books. i can't wait to talk to him about all of that. now, i don't know if you guys keep up with the news. but even though i read a lot of news, i found -- and i don't know if you do this too. but a lot of times i'll just read the headlines and the first couple of paragraphs of an article --

and, you know, get the gist -- and then, move on to the next one. but the truth is there is really -- i've learned there is really valuable information if you read all the way to the end of an article. so let me show you what i'm talking about in a segment that we call "last line of the news story." ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: all right, let's get started. here's some political news from the "new york times." here's the headline, "the bushes led by w rally to make jeb 45." okay, so the top few paragraphs talk about how george w. bush thinks his brother, jeb, should run in 2016 to become the nation's 45th president. but let's go down to the last line in the news story. "'look, don't vote against him because we share the same last name,' former president george w. bush said. 'vote against him because iraq was his idea, so was the patriot act and guantanamo. also he did all those paintings, not me. i'm good at painting.'" [ cheers and applause ] see what you missed?

see what you miss when you don't read all the way until the end? sticking with politics, here's some midterm election news from the "washington post." "poll midterm momentum belongs to the gop." first couple of paragraphs, talking about how republicans are poised to potentially pick up seats in the house, take control of the senate. but read all the way to the end. this is very interesting to me. "in a rare show of bipartisanship both parties came together and issued a joint statement which read in part, 'whether democrats maintain control of the senate or republicans take over it won't matter because not one [ bleep ] thing is going to change.'" [ laughter ] [ cheers and applause ] amazing. and very honest. sometimes they hide -- they hide those nuggets at the end. turning to health and travel news. "cdc tweaks ebola guidelines for travelers." top of the story contains information about how the cdc is separating airline passengers, many whom are coming from african countries, into four risk categories. bottom of the news story -- "cdc spokesman, mike gable, ended the press conference by saying, 'we're really proud of this idea and think segregation is the right answer.

i'm sorry, i mean separation. did i say segregation? i just meant, if a black guy is coughing and a white guy is coughing, we'll probably be more inclined to stop the black guy from boarding the plane. oh, no, that sounded bad. any chance you'll leave this quote out of the story?'" so glad they kept it in. [ applause ] let's go to some business news. wwe reports 2014 third quarter results. apparently world wrestling entertainment has reported an overall loss of earnings. let's go to the last line of the news story. "'taking into consideration the current rates of inflation as well as our investment in foreign markets, i think we have to accept that, as a company, we are far more susceptible to worldwide market volatility now than in the past,' said current wwe champion brock lesnar, who then took a chair and slammed it into a reporter's back." that's great. [ cheers and applause ] that's a great last line of a news story. i'm so glad they left that in. so glad i read to the end. check out some entertainment news.

halle berry, women should be prepared with nice lingerie. [ cheers ] some interesting advice from halle berry. let's get to the last line of the news story. "berry concluded her interview by telling reporters, 'although, let's be honest. even if i don't have nice lingerie, i'm good because, you know, i'm halle berry.'" [ cheers and applause ] very fair point. very fair point. turning to pastry news. my favorite kind of news. "dunkin' donuts to offer croissant hybrid starting november 3rd." dunkin' donuts, very exciting news. always trying to add different menu items. and the last line of the news story -- "'maybe he'll come back,' sheryl said, as she took another bite. 'men come back. sure, her father didn't, but darrell was different. for one thing he had a ponytail. but she knew what her friend would say. they'd say she was better off without him, especially since her name was sheryl and his name was darrell. what would the kids be named, carol and merrill?' 'so do you want the cat or what,' asked the petco employee. 'yeah, i'll take him,' said sheryl as she took another bite it of her croissant doughnut."

[ cheers and applause ] can't believe i almost missed that. that was beautiful. and finally, i love this. "short spider-man robs main store." apparently a smaller than normal sized man in a spider-man costume robbed a convenience store. let's see what's at the end of the story. "according to police chief frank higgins, authorities eventually trapped the mini spider-man between a bowl and a magazine and set him free outside the back door." [ applause ] this has been "last line of the news story." we'll be right back with kerry washington! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ yeah, i'm married. does it matter?

you'd do that for me? really? yeah, i'd like that. who are you talking to? uh, it's jake from state farm. sounds like a really good deal. jake from state farm at three in the morning. who is this? it's jake from state farm. what are you wearing, jake from state farm? [ jake ] uh... khakis. she sounds hideous. well she's a guy, so... [ male announcer ] another reason more people stay with state farm. get to a better state. ♪

get to a better state. so right now if you get the 15 gig plan, we'll double the data and make it 30 gigs for the same price. 30 gigs? wow - that's a lot. you don't have to do that for me. oh, that's ok... no, seriously, i wouldn't want you to get in trouble... it's the same plan for everyone. families...businesses...whoever. riiiiight. (yelling) no celebrity treatment here! (yelling) there really isn't any celebrity treatment. just a normal guy, getting a great deal. we're just saying it loudly for some reason. now get 30 gigs of data to share with family or your business. for a limited time, starting at $160 dollars a month.

it's part of a hershey's bar. we break it. we bite it. we sneak it. we smoosh it. we savor it. we love it. hershey's is mine, yours, our chocolate.

♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: welcome back to "late night," everyone. our first guest tonight is a two-time emmy nominee for her role as crisis manager extraordinaire olivia pope on the massively popular series, "scandal." new episodes air thursday nights on abc. let's take a look. >> if you give him to my father to be killed, you and i will never, ever have any hope of ever being together again. >> are you saying there's any hope now? >> i'm saying the man i know, the man i voted for, the man who took the oath of office, would never hand -- >> are you saying there's hope? >> don't hand him over. >> are you saying there's hope? >> don't hand him over!

>> are you saying there's hope? >> if you give him to my father -- >> are you saying there's hope? >> there's hope. >> seth: there's hope! please welcome kerry washington. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> hi. >> seth: hi! >> hi! >> seth: it's so good to see you. >> i'm happy to be here. look at your fancy show. >> seth: i know, isn't it nice? >> it's very nice. >> seth: and you -- from new york. >> yes. >> seth: are you always happy to be back here? >> i love being back here. i think i'm like the twin of hip-hop because we were both born in the in the bronx in 1977. >> seth: that's true. >> so i'm very happy to always come back to my roots.

>> seth: that's really great. i've got to have hip-hop on. i'd love to have hip-hop as a guest, as well. the two of you together. >> we look a lot alike. >> seth: yeah. [ laughter ] congratulations on your baby girl. >> oh, thank you. >> seth: she had her first halloween. >> we did. yes, yes. >> seth: very exciting. >> so exciting. >> now this is -- you probably have -- how many years do you think you have when it's just you're choosing the outfits? >> 'til they're 35. >> seth: yeah, 35. because -- so you chose her outfit. >> i did. i actually -- i have to apologize to you because we made an agreement before the golden globes. >> seth: i wasn't going to bring it up, but you let me know. >> you said your very first guest on the show -- i was then pregnant. -- you said your very first guest on the show was going to be me and my child. >> seth: yeah. >> so i was going to deliver live, i think was what you said. >> seth: well, here's what happens. when you have a talk show -- like a month out, we were at the golden globes, everybody's like, "who can we expect as guests?" and you don't know. but you were right next to me. and i said, "oh, she's going to be on. kerry is going to be on." >> and if she had been born or close, if i had been even early labor, we would have come.

>> seth: yeah. we would have done it classy. you would have been behind the couch. >> totally, totally. >> seth: we would have just seen your head and maybe your feet. >> absolutely. and then, like in "the lion king," like holding her up. that would have been amazing. >> seth: the worst part is -- [ applause ] fred -- and i feel really bad about this. i had fred take classes on how to midwife. and so he was ready to go. >> fred, that's so great. wow, amazing. >> seth: but you dressed her up as a -- >> i'm not telling. >> seth: well, what's wrong with -- if you don't tell us -- >> she was a ladybug. >> seth: people are going to say, "wait, what is it? is it something awful?" >> yeah, yeah, that's true. she was a ladybug. so cute. >> seth: so cute. and then, did the great thing as a mom, you double dressed up as a plant. >> yes, i was a flower holding the ladybug. [ audience aws ] >> seth: that's really cute. what are you ashamed of? what are you ashamed of? [ cheers and applause ] so back in new york, you're up here in the bronx. and i heard, when you were young, you used to act out whoopi goldberg's one-woman show.

>> i did. >> seth: which is a kind of racy show. >> it was. it was a one-woman show that she did on broadway. and we had it recorded, and i memorized it from beginning to end. and i don't even think i was in the double digits at the time. i was, like, maybe nine. >> seth: yeah. >> and my mom used to let me swear because it was for art. so i would walk -- [ laughter ] >> seth: wow. >> so i would walk around throwing f-bombs in the house, but it was for art. it was broadway. mike nichols directed it, for god's sake. >> seth: who would you perform it for, if you knew it beginning to end? >> everyone who would listen. cousins, mostly. aunts, uncles, people at the neighborhood pool. >> seth: would they say, "oh, we should stop by the washingtons." or would someone say, "just so you know you're going to have to watch a one-woman show, a filthy one-woman show by a 9-year-old." >> yeah. and it's gross when she drops the f-bomb, but it has good meaning. >> seth: it's for art. >> it makes you feel good at the end, and it was for art. our neighbor, art. [ laughter ] >> seth: art loved it. >> he listen all the time. >> seth: art couldn't believe that he got his own show. >> popcorn.

>> seth: later they found out art maybe had some issues. >> yeah, that's true. oh, well. >> seth: i actually just did -- you went to george washington, yes? >> i did. >> seth: i just did stand-up there for parents' weekend. >> you did? at lisner? oh, in the smith center. >> seth: the basketball place, yeah. >> yes, the smith center. >> seth: it was -- and you -- which is great -- >> buff and blue, gw. you can tell no one in the audience -- [ laughter ] >> seth: yeah. >> you know, usually you say a random town in kansas and everybody's like, whoo, but not gw. okay. >> seth: you got nothing -- they gave you nothing -- >> nothing. >> seth: -- and you still tried to do it. >> i had to reach for it. i was like, buff and blue! go colonials! [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: finally. it's really because they're so respectful of you and your work. >> it's true. >> seth: they were like, "we should yell out because we love her so much, but we don't want to interrupt her." >> they went there. >> seth: you were an r.a. in college. >> i was. >> seth: and that's a real authority. [ applause ] >> now they're cheering for anything. >> seth: yeah. >> yes, i was an r.a. in college. it helped me pay for college because college is, you know, costly. it's a very good investment, one

that you should make. but i was an r.a. to help pay for it. and i'd never wanted to catch people. my friend colleen and i, we were both r.a.s in the freshman dorm. >> seth: mm-hmm. >> we would always say to people, like, "we don't want to catch you, so if you get caught, you're an idiot." because we're not looking for it at all. >> seth: you don't want to do the paperwork. >> we don't want to do the paperwork. and then -- so one time, i was by myself doing my rounds. you have to walk around. and i could hear a lot of noise coming from -- and like bottles clanking, coming from a room in the freshman dorm. so i was like, "oh, man." and so i knocked on the door, went in, and it was one of the athletic teams. i won't say which one because i don't want you to be biased. and i got really -- and some of the guys were of age, because it was the team. but some of them weren't, and they were in the freshman dorm. so i got really nervous, because it was just little me and all these big guys. and so i remember, because i had a bunch of cousins that are really tall and their mothers would always do this -- so i remembered and i said, "everybody sit down!" because then i was the tallest one in the room.

[ laughter ] [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: right. >> so then i made them all take out their i.d.s and i was like -- but i was so scared. i remember my hand was shaking as i was doing the paperwork, because i was so little and they were all -- oh, gosh. i was so no olivia pope. >> seth: and then you said, "now, here's your punishment. please sit and watch this one-woman show by the great whoopi goldberg from start to finish!" >> that's right. and my friend art is going to join you. >> seth: hey, you guys, i'm art. i grew up next to -- >> they're like, whoa. >> seth: "scandal," congratulations. >> thank you. >> seth: so exciting. [ cheers and applause ] >> oh, yay. >> seth: you guys -- you and your cast are so good, you live tweet. you so engage with your fan base through social media. >> yeah. >> seth: is that all positive? do you get -- i mean, i've never heard somebody say, "no, my social media experience is fantastic." >> no, it is fantastic because i feel like we wouldn't have had a second season or a third season, or even now a fourth season, without social media. because our fans --

it's been like this grassroots effort to keep us alive and to make us a hit. so i'm very grateful to everyone on social media. that being said -- [ light laughter ] yeah, you know, sometimes it gets confusing because they think -- maybe particularly in television -- people think you are your character. so when they get upset at olivia, sometimes they get upset at me. and they get very angry at me for not making a choice between the two men. but i don't write the show. [ laughter ] >> seth: yeah. >> i just act the show. that's my sign language -- write and act. and also, like when i spoke at the dnc -- a couple of years ago, i spoke at the democratic national convention, and the people that came out of the woodwork -- like, i don't mind if you say on social media you don't like my dress, or you don't like my character, or you think my hairstyle is weird. although this is really cute. [ laughter ] >> seth: yeah, this one. >> but i don't mind that at all. but when people are like, you know, racist, and sexist, and death threats, and stuff like that, they get blocked. >> seth: yeah. >> blocked! >> seth: that's the power of the block.

>> love the power of the block, yeah. >> seth: do people on the street, are they more likely to say, kerry or olivia? do you get an equal amount? >> oh, i get both. yeah, i definitely get both. >> seth: if they are in trouble, they probably call you olivia. >> you know, i do get real-life people now who call and say -- because my character's based on a real woman, judy smith. so, people don't call me -- thank god -- expecting me to fix their problems, but they do call me for judy smith's number. >> seth: wow, because they're just in a jam? >> yeah. >> seth: oh, my goodness. >> isn't that crazy? >> seth: that is crazy. >> don't call me if you're in trouble. >> seth: no, i just -- i have a question i think you can deal with. >> you could call me. >> seth: yeah, okay, good. i will, but only if i'm in trouble. >> you'll never be in trouble. >> seth: you'd be surprised. >> oh, dear. >> seth: yeah. >> no. >> seth: you'd be surprised. >> your wife will keep you on the straight. she's the best. >> seth: you've met my wife, so you know i could never be in trouble. whoever -- getting in trouble with her is so scary, i'll never be in trouble. >> because she's like brilliant. >> seth: yeah, she's brilliant and smart, and i can't trick her even the littlest. >> good. >> seth: yes. i guess that's right. it keeps you on the straight and narrow. will you stick around? >> yes. >> seth: okay, great.

we'll be right back with more from kerry washington! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ stella: amazing annc: the rush of driving a mustang ... raymond: oh...ho, ho, ho... annc: ...felt like never before. jay: i could happily, probably cry right now. basil: wow! luen: that's insane. lance: it makes you feel like ... john (vo): wow. jennifer: that is amazing. annc: introducing the all-new ford mustang. experience more, on-line now.

♪ let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together ♪ ♪ i've got some real estate here in my bag ♪ ♪ it took me four days to hitch-hike from saginaw ♪ ♪ "i've come to look for america" ♪

i have a cold with terrible chest congestion. better take something. theraflu severe cold doesn't treat chest congestion. really? new alka-seltzer plus day powder rushes relief to your worst cold symptoms plus chest congestion. oh, what a relief it is. here we go!

♪if your sweetheart ♪sends a letter ♪of goodbye ♪it's no secret ♪you feel better ♪if you cry

♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: welcome back to "late night." we're here with kerry washington. and i have some very exciting news. one of our writers was doing some research and realized that you, right now, at this minute, are our 300th guest -- >> no way? >> seth: -- in the history of the show. so because of that, we have a special surprise just for you. [ cheers and applause ] >> aw. oh! [ singing ] ♪ one's not special at all 100 is just fine 200 is getting warmer and 300 is divine ♪ >> from all of us here at "late night," we're honored to have you, kerry washington, as our 300th guest! ♪ you're the best

>> oh, thank you. that's awesome. >> seth: thank you very much, singing telegram. thank you. >> you're welcome. [ singing ] ♪ while i have you here how could you believe jake killed the president's son ♪ ♪ he would never do that to you but for the record i do not care for him ♪ >> are jake and your dad going to murder each other? and if they do, will you lean on the president for support, falling back in love with him? ♪ you're the best [ cheers and applause ] >> yay! well, i -- so guess it's up to the writers, right? and also you keep saying "you." but you know that's a character. i'm kerry, and that's olivia. >> of course, yeah. >> thank you. >> seth: well, thank you very much, singing telegram. good-bye, now. i'm very sorry about that. >> no, no, it's okay. [ singing ] ♪ just one other thing now that huck found his family again ♪

♪ is he going to make it right with them or get back with quinn the slut ♪ [ laughter ] >> um -- uh -- i don't -- that's, like, slut shaming. i mean, it might take some time before hawk is ready for anything like that. but i don't think she's a slut. ♪ 'cause if he goes back to quinn then what's the point of getting out of b613 ♪ ♪ and how could quinn ever like him after he tied her up and pulled her teeth ♪ >> and unrelated. when you walk past this in your hallway and your pinkies almost touched, i went like this. [ gasps ] ♪ you're the best >> seth: sorry. amber -- what are you doing? >> celebrating our 300th guest! [ light laughter ] >> seth: did you just write this piece so you could ask kerry a bunch of questions about "scandal"? >> and i get to wear a hat. [ laughter ] >> seth: you know --

now that i think about it, there's no way she could be our 300th guest. i trusted you, amber, and you lied to me. >> just like jake. [ laughter ] seriously. liv, you've got to let him go. >> seth: hold on. this is our 120 -- hey, what are you doing? 20th show, each show has three guests. [ singing ] ♪ before i'm forced to leave will abby and david get back together ♪ ♪ and i can't believe i'm actually saying this but have you considered killing your father ♪ >> seth: our 300th guest was nick jonas. >> i don't have any questions for nick jonas! >> seth: all right, that is enough, amber. good-bye. oh, boy. ♪ as soon as i saw jake shoot jane ♪ ♪ i screamed so loudly my husband came running into the room ♪ ♪ he was looking for an intruder but only saw me sobbing on the couch ♪ >> aw. [ cheers and applause ] wow. >> seth: so sorry about that, kerry! kerry washington, everybody!

our 360th guest. check out "scandal," thursday nights on abc. ♪ you're the best >> seth: we'll be right back with michael c. hall. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ i think my mom has super powers. she can cook stuff super fast. watch this. hey mom when's.... dinner! how does she do that? (vo) the time-saving frigidaire gallery double wall oven has a quick preheat feature, cooks more dishes at the same time and uses convection heat for more even baking. so your meals are cooked faster. and you have more time to be super. don't tell anybody about my super mom. it's a secret. (vo) frigidaire gallery. our time-saving legend continues.

♪ if yand you're talking toevere rheumyour rheumatologiste me, about a biologic... this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain and protect my joints from further damage. this is humira giving me new perspective. doctors have been prescribing humira for ten years. humira works for many adults.

it targets and helps to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. talk to your doctor and visit humira.com this is humira at work [car revving] [car revving] ♪

♪ [car revving] introducing the first ever 306 horsepower lexus rc coupe. once driven, there's no going back.

♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: you know our next guest tonight from his golden globe winning role on the hit series, "dexter." you can see him now looking very different on broadway as the title character in "hedwig and the angry inch" at belasco theater. please welcome michael c. hall! ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: how are you? >> i'm great. >> seth: welcome back to new york. >> thank you. thank you. >> seth: are you having a good time? is it a fun show to do? yeah, it's -- it's -- i think simultaneously the most demanding and exhilarating thing i've ever done. it's like a rock 'n' roll fantasy. >> seth: it's famously like the most -- one of the most physically taxing shows. here's like -- first of all, this is you with a very different look. there you go. [ laughter ]

but this is the one -- this is the one that blows my mind. just the full height. >> major error there. >> seth: major error. and you're not coming down on air jordans. you're coming down on heels. >> yeah. >> seth: when you get ready for it, do you practice in the heels? like, do you rehearse? >> i never rehearsed out of heels. or fishnets or a bra. [ laughter ] >> seth: okay. >> just because [ cheers and applause ] yeah, thank you. >> seth: yeah. >> actually -- actually, the heels i rehearsed in were like a half inch higher than the ones that i'm wearing in that photo. so when i put those on, it looked like i was wearing sneakers. >> seth: oh, that's great. that's very, very smart. this is a part that andrew rannells has played, neil patrick harris played. do you get advice from previous hedwigs? is there a fraternity of hedwigs when you do something like this? [ light laughter ] >> when i got to the theater, actually, andrew had left me a note -- saying that i could help myself to the champagne he left in the fridge. and he left me some facial products that he found did a good job getting the glitter off. >> seth: right.

>> and wished me well. and, you know, said i could reach out and ask him any questions. and i had an e-mail correspondence with neil as well. so yeah, there is a sort of like -- passing of the wig that happens. [ light laughter ] >> seth: yes. you mentioned glitter. >> yes. >> seth: there's so much glitter in this show. >> yes. >> seth: glitter, famously hard to get off. >> yes. >> seth: are you just finding it everywhere? >> yeah, it's -- i mean, today, i've really made a point to try to try get it off because i was going to be here. >> seth: thank you very much. >> you're welcome. i got the memo that you're -- >> seth: yeah. >> you have that glitter phobia. >> seth: it's a phobia. yeah, yeah. >> it's cool. a lot of people have that. >> seth: it's really hard. night clubs are impossible for me. >> scotch tape is the best thing. >> seth: really? >> i have it. along with all the other things andrew left me, he left me a roll of scotch tape. and just rolling that up and kind of dabbing it around your face. but it's in my bathroom. it's in my sheets. it's on my dog. [ laughter ] >> seth: that's -- i like that you said this show is a rock 'n' roll fantasy. the opposite of a rock 'n' roll fantasy is taking glitter off with scotch tape. [ laughter ] >> true. >> seth: you also mentioned the

passing of the wig. i read if the "new york post," a wig got stolen. >> yeah, yeah. >> seth: how do you steal a wig from a broadway show? >> well, if i knew who stole it, they could tell you. >> seth: right. >> it comes off my head at one point and is left on the stage. and i guess it wound up a little further down stage than usual, and i don't know if it was a kleptomaniac, or a rabid fan, or some combination. but if it was premeditated, perhaps, or if they just saw it and had to have it and took it in the dark. but it really was a headache for all of us. because i had to come in earlier the next day, and they had to sort of reposition this -- there's wigs on top of wigs, on top of wigs. and these magnets involved and it's very -- >> seth: but there's someone right now with a hedwig wig. >> yeah, yeah. >> seth: yeah. >> i don't know. >> seth: are you the one who dropped it a little bit further off? >> no. >> seth: okay, it wasn't you? >> i take it off and then someone else deals with it. >> seth: okay. >> and -- yeah. >> seth: maybe an inside job, i'm thinking. >> it's entirely possible.

it's turned into a bit of a publicity boom, though. >> seth: yeah, that's good. >> so if they were looking to mess us up, it's backfired. [ laughter ] >> well, sorry. sorry, wig thief. you -- "dexter," eight years. [ cheers and applause ] so exciting. and then you did -- before this you did -- "cabaret" was your broadway debut. >> yeah, back to like 15 years ago. >> seth: wow. these two shows, what they have in common, is there's so much audience interaction, particularly with people sort of sitting close. when you interact with the audience in both those roles, do you have a sense -- do you say, this would be a good person to interact with, this won't? >> i'll take a peek out before the show sometimes. or during the life of the show leading up to the time where i have the interaction, i'll maybe clock who i might -- but it's really the most fun to just make it a total game-time decision. you know, like i come down the steps into the audience and just pick the person then.

i stand up on the armrest of the seat and do this sort of car wash effect over someone's head. >> seth: right, right. >> yeah, it's -- >> seth: has anything ever gone wrong while you're car wash -- >> yeah. >> seth: okay. [ laughter ] >> there was a 17-year-old kid i did it to, and he was just -- [ laughter ] >> seth: right. >> did not move. but his mother loved it. she actually sent me flowers and thanked me for doing that to him. so i guess -- i don't know what that means. [ laughter ] >> seth: yes. i don't know. i don't know what was wrong with him that that fixed. >> right, right, exactly. exactly. >> seth: i think if he had another gentleman standing above him, moving back and forth -- >> then, one day i was particularly tired or something, and i actually fell -- into the lap of the person in front of the person i was car washing. >> seth: wow. >> fortunately, she had turned over her shoulder. i landed just like spread eagle in her lap. and i just gave her a big kiss and kept going. >> seth: wow.

[ light laughter ] >> it's the kind of show, where something goes wrong, kind of perfect. >> seth: that's great. i think if there's anything anyone can take away from this interview is try to sit up close and maybe end up with michael c. hall in your lap. >> yeah, yeah, yeah. >> seth: also that's where -- that's where you -- those are the wig stealing seats. >> yeah, you can steal the wig. you can get violated. >> seth: yeah. it's a really good show. congratulations. >> thank you. >> seth: welcome back to the city. welcome back to broadway. michael c. hall, everybody. check out "hedwig and the angry inch" at belasco theater. we'll be right back with joe hill. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ chevrolet is merging the physical freedom of the car, with the virtual freedom of wi-fi. chevrolet, the first and only car company to bring built-in 4g

lte wi-fi to cars, trucks and crossovers. hi mom. you made it! it's the new independence. introducing the best trade in value guaranteed.e. trade in your old iphone at t-mobile and get up to $350. it's the best trade in value guaranteed. get the best iphone ever today at your local t-mobile store. ♪

♪ when the snow comes to cover the ground ♪ ♪ it's a time for play, ♪ it's a whipped cream day ♪ i wait for it all year round ♪ in winter it's a marshmallow world! ♪ so you can see like right here i can just... you know, check my policy here, add a car, ah speak to customer service, check on a claim...you know, all with the ah, tap of my geico app. oh, that's so cool. well, i would disagree with you but, ah, that would make me a liar. no dude, you're on the jumbotron!

whoa. ah...yeah, pretty much walked into that one. geico anywhere anytime. just a tap away on the geico app.

♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: welcome back to "late night", everyone. our next guest is an author of such acclaimed novels as "heart-shaped box" and the award-winning comic book series "lock and key," which is one of my all-time favorites. his novel, "horns", was adapted into a movie starring daniel radcliffe. it's in theaters, on demand and on itunes right now. let's take a look. >> get away from me. >> no, no, no! >> please leave me alone! >> no, no, no. i'm not here to hurt you. please, tell me what i have to do to stop it.

how do i make them go away? >> look, you killed that innocent girl, merrin. there's nothing i can do. >> no, it's just -- i didn't kill her -- >> please leave me alone! >> i didn't kill her, father. and now people are telling me all these things i don't want to hear. i mean, there must be a prayer you can say. i'll try anything. >> you did this to yourself. >> what? >> you turned away from god. you cast yourself into the darkness. >> but i didn't do anything wrong. >> every devil used to be an angel. and now you've fallen from grace forever. when satan was banished from heaven, he was cursed to crawl the earth like a snake. there's no hope for you. >> seth: please welcome joe hill. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> seth: thank you so much for being here. >> you're so good to have me on. and you've got a nice smile. >> seth: oh, thank you. >> you know, and i feel like of all the people on late night, you have the nicest of the smiles.

>> seth: thank you very much. >> not like that jimmy kimmel. >> seth: yeah. >> jimmy kimmel has this smile like he'd be grinning at you that way as he shivs you in the prison yard. [ laughter ] >> seth: very kind eyes. he has very kind eyes. >> oh, well. >> seth: where if you look in my eyes, that's where the evil lives. this is very exciting. now that you're here, your father, stephen king, was on the show. you're the first father/son to be on the show. >> it's like ken griffey sr. and ken griffey jr. playing on the same team. >> seth: exactly. and it was interesting. so you did not use the king name professionally. i knew that that was something your audience didn't know. i didn't realize, you kept it secret from your agent as well, for like the first ten years you were writing. >> yeah. well, when i was in college, i knew i wanted to be a writer. but i had a terror that i would write something really bad. and a publisher would want to publish it anyway, because they saw a chance to make a quick buck on the last name. >> seth: right. >> and i was a very insecure guy. i was very nervous. and i needed to feel like, when i sold a story, it sold because it was good.

it sold for the right reasons. so i dropped the last name. i started writing as joe hill. and i was able to keep it secret for about ten years, including from my agent. even my agent didn't know until we started to sell stuff. >> seth: that's really impressive. now i have to ask -- [ cheers and applause ] it's great. it's so great. growing up in the king household, how was it different, do you think, than normal households? [ laughter ] >> well -- >> seth: yeah. [ laughter ] >> well, i mean, it was -- i mean, it was a very ordinary, maine family in a lot of ways. sometimes celebrations were strange. you know, i remember for my 12th birthday, my parents asked what i wanted to do. and i wanted to watch my favorite film, which was "dawn of the dead." >> seth: mm-hmm. >> so we had all my friends over. we all sat around watching "dawn of the dead." and at some point i looked around, and i realized they had all left. except my friend brian was still there, but he was slathered in sweat. he just said, "i don't think we should be watching this."

yeah. >> seth: so probably, yeah, a little bit more -- yeah. you see things that other kids wouldn't see. >> yeah, but i mean, you know -- but my parents are great and very encouraging. and, you know, terrific people. you know, it's not like we didn't have lamp shades made of skin or anything. [ light laughter ] >> seth: that's very good. i'm glad to hear that. i have to tell you -- so "lock and key," one of the great comic books of the last ten years. [ cheers and applause ] >> you're very kind. you're very kind. >> seth: the hard part about this book, which i highly recommend. you don't have to be a comic book fan to love this comic book. it was a story that had a lot -- there was a puzzle to it. there were a lot of thins set up. and you nailed the landing, which is, in this day and age, when you invest in something as a reader, you so want to feel safe that the writer knows where it's going. did you know exactly where it was going from the beginning? >> maybe not for the first five or six issues. but at a certain point i began to think, "well, this is going

to go 30 or 40 issues." and it's like a cable tv series. you know, and it has season endings and goes on for a long time. i felt like you have to be careful. you can't raise mysteries without having the answers already in your pocket. because i think a lot of times in tv and comic books and long-running series, you'll see people do -- they'll do something, and be like, "oh, this will be awesome!" without any idea about how they're going to explain it later. and then you wind up with a terrible final season where, you know, you have to shovel all this information on the audience to try to explain all the stuff that didn't really make sense. and people don't want that at the end. they want emotional closure. they want to care about the characters. [ applause ] >> seth: and i will say i read -- when i read the last issue, i loved it. and there was one thing i couldn't figure out. then, you on twitter -- because i follow you on twitter -- said, "look, if you have any questions, just reread it again. it's all there." and i reread it again. i got it the second time. >> oh, that's great. >> seth: so i felt good. but thank you for not giving us

the answer, but pushing us to find it on our own. you're like a very good teacher. >> or a lazy writer. i'm not sure. [ laughter ] that was much too much effort to explain. so find your own solution. >> seth: so "horns" is a book you wrote because you wanted to write about the devil as a character. which is -- you have some very interesting opinions on the devil as a character. >> he has a little bit of a bad rap, you know? i feel like he's got an unfairly, you know -- a bad reputation. >> seth: the worst rap, i think you could say. >> the thing is like -- i feel like, you know -- i feel like the devil could be right on "the avengers." he's like a superhero. he punishes the bad guys. he has a cool look. he's got horns and the red costume. on his very first adventure, he freed two naked prisoners being held in a jungle prison by a megalomaniac. >> seth: yeah. >> and in the process, he introduced fruit to their diet. [ laughter ] and sort of taught them about their own sexuality. >> seth: yeah.

>> which i think makes him like a cross between animal man and dr. ruth. >> seth: yeah! >> that's awesome. >> seth: that is awesome. i really -- now i feel bad about all the negative stuff i've said about the devil over the years. i'm so glad i had you on. congratulations on the film. thank you so much for being here. i've been a big fan for a long, long time. >> thanks a lot. i appreciate it. >> seth: joe hill, everyone! [ cheers and applause ] also, the novel is so good, we're making sure everyone tonight will leave with a copy of it. joe hill, everyone. "horns" in theaters, on demand and on itunes now. we'll be right back. [ cheers and applause ] ♪

[ cheers and applause ] >> seth: my thanks to kerry washington, michael c. hall, joe hill. and of course the 8g band. stay tuned for carson daly. we'll see you tomorrow! [ cheers and applause ] ♪

♪ >> carson: well, welcome to the middle of the night, you're watching "last call" with me, carson daly. good to have you here. we're at queen of the night at the paramount hotel for the show, and it's a good one tonight. here's what we got for you. we're going to head over to the greek theater l.a. for the music of alt-j. which i think you're going to like. plus, we're going to turn you on to all things "thug kitchen." but first, film and tv fans, sci-fi geeks and book readers unite, we have something for all of you. the legendary "x-files" actor gillian anderson is here to talk about her debut novel, "a vision of fire." for more, here's tonight's "last call" "spotlight." ♪ >> i immediately think of kerouac and smoking cigarettes and drinking whiskey and old