For those not up to speed with all things Stephen Colbert—during his Colbert Report days, the television host popularized a bit called the “Colbert Questionert,” where he asked the same 15 questions (covering the ”full spectrum of human experience”) to whichever celebrity guest he was interviewing at the time.
That bit lives on with the Late Show, and during the show’s April 29 episode, Anchorman star Will Ferrell was asked those trademark “ergonomically designed” questions.
His answers were every bit as unserious as you’d might expect…from declaring the “classic” salami and grapefruit on rye with a light sheen of mayo as the “best sandwich” (which, actually, does sound pretty delectable), to naming penguins as the “scariest animal (“you know the old phrase, don’t turn your back on a penguin”). You can definitely tell Colbert is working very, very hard to keep himself together.
And yet, when asked, “What do you think happens when we die?” things took a bit of a profound turn.
“What I know happens…we turn into trees.”
He went on to say that once that happens, you’ll still be “experiencing” things, and “contributing to the world,” but…”that’s it.”
“And you know this…how?” Colbert replied.
“I just know it,” said Ferrell before immediately dubbing Sense and Sensibility as his favorite action movie followed by a full-on spontaneous acapella duet with Colbert of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”— the one song Ferrell would pick if he could only listen to one song for the rest of his life. If that’s not life in a nutshell, I don’t know what is: beauty, silliness, and everything in between.
Whether you find answers to this ultimate mystery in religion, a spiritual practice, science, or simply accepting that you’ll never know, the one truth of it all is that our bodies go back into the earth in some way or fashion. Some might find this concept unsettling, while others find it deeply meaningful—so much so that they opt for biodegradable urns or pods to house their remains which are then planted with a tree, allowing the remains to nourish the tree as they decompose and it grows.
So, while Ferrell was obviously taking on the funny man role, he also seemed to pull one of the oldest clown tricks in the book: offering poignant wisdom.
By the way, if you want to host your own little Colbert Questionert, here are the 15 questions:
- Best sandwich?
- What’s one thing you own that you really should throw out?
- What is the scariest animal?
- Apples or oranges?
- Have you ever asked someone for their autograph?
- What do you think happens when we die?
- Favorite action movie?
- Favorite smell?
- Least favorite smell?
- Exercise: worth it?
- Flat or sparkling?
- Most used app on your phone?
- You get one song to listen to for the rest of your life: what is it?
- What number am I thinking of?
- Describe the rest of your life in five words?
