For all the claims of his detractors that Stewart is the epitome of East Coast elitism, there is more self-deprecating New Jersey grit here than arrogant Manhattan elan. If I tell him I liked something about the film, he will immediately deflect the compliment and insist it was all down to Bahari, or the film’s star Gael García Bernal, or the crew.
He is dressed casually, and after years of watching him on TV wearing a suit, seeing him in a T-shirt and casual trousers feels almost like catching my father half-undressed.Īt 52, Stewart has the bouncy energy of a man half his age and, unlike most in the public eye, has an aversion to compliments. Like every TV celebrity, in person, Stewart is both better-looking than you expect and smaller, with his long torso making up most of his 5ft 7in, giving the illusion of height from behind his studio desk. He notes, in a tone that is both sincere and satirical, and that will be familiar to fans of The Daily Show, the lavishness of the food: “My compliments to the prop master, because that really is a beautiful tomato and mozzarella salad,” he intones solemnly to a bemused waiter. His voice is about an octave lower, and he sounds weary, weighed down.īut talking about his film in London, he is animated to the point of hyperactivity, gleefully pointing out the pretentious decor in the hotel room where we meet (“A photo of a submissive woman with a cigar in her mouth! Just what every room needs!”). He is in his office in New York, preparing to shoot a Friday-night episode, and the difference in his mood is striking. The second time, we speak soon after Stewart announces his retirement from The Daily Show.
Rosewater is an engrossing and pacy film that tells the true story of Iranian-born journalist Maziar Bahari, who was arrested and tortured in Iran in 2009, after sending footage of street riots to the BBC. The first time last October, when he flew from New York to London with his family for the premiere of his directorial debut at the London Film Festival.
Stewart and I speak twice in the space of a few months. Stewart announces he is to leave The Daily Show Guardian