James Corden Reveals How Much He Regrets Doing Cats On Justin Bieber 'Spill Your Guts' Segment
James Corden loved the experience of making Cats, even if the final product wasn’t exactly purr-fect.
On Thursday’s episode of The Late Late Show with James Corden, the 41-year-old talk show host sat down for a new installment of his “Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts” segment, where he was challenged by guest Justin Bieber to eat cod sperm or rate — on a scale of 1 to 10 — how much he regretted doing the film Cats.
Corden played Bustopher Jones in Tom Hopper’s film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s acclaimed musical, which also starred Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson, Jennifer Hudson, Jason Derulo, Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Judi Dench.
But despite the A-list cast, the 2019 movie earned harsh reviews and was a box office bomb, grossing only $73 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo— far from its reported $100 million budget.
“Here’s the thing. I had the loveliest time making that film,” Corden told Bieber, 25. “It took me six days and I loved every single second of it. So I think you’ve got to be careful not to … You’ve got to decide things on your own personal experience, and I had a really great time.”
“I don’t regret doing it at all, because I decided to do it in the way I’ve decided to do many things; some have worked and some haven’t,” the host added.
Eventually, he settled on a number. “I’m going to put it at a solid 5,” Corden said, before changing his answer. “4.5! 4.5!”
Back in December, at the Cats premiere, Corden told PEOPLE that he was hopeful audiences would love the film.
“It’s such a bold thing to try and do,” he said. “It was a bold musical to make 30 years ago and it’s fitting that it should be a bold film to make now. It’s always been a show which has captured people’s hearts and imaginations. I hope that the film does the same. … I hope that I have not messed it up for you!”
That same month, he joked on with Zoe Ball on her Radio 2 BBC show that while he still hadn’t seen the movie, he “heard it’s terrible.”
“I’ll catch it one day, I imagine,” he added.
This month, during the 2020 Academy Awards, Corden and Wilson poked fun at their turn in Cats — the two appearing on the Oscars stage in cat costumes while presenting the award for Best Visual Effects.
“As cast members of the motion picture Cats, nobody more than us understands the importance, of good visual effects,” the two said.
While Corden was happy to talk about Cats on Thursday’s The Late Late Show, he wasn’t nearly as open with the other two questions he was asked.
When faced with the choice of picking whether Bieber or Harry Styles was more talented, Corden chose to drink bird saliva.
He also opted to take a bite of the cow tongue rather than ranking his fellow late-night hosts: Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers.
“I’m never going to answer that,” Corden said.
