Jake Tapper gives “Lords of the Rings” superfan Stephen Colbert a very precious gift

Derek LawrenceWed, April 22, 2026 at 5:26 PM UTC

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Jake Tapper on Stephen Colbert on 'The Late Show'Credit: Scott Kowalchyk/CBSKey Points -

Jake Tapper wanted to paint Stephen Colbert a goodbye gift.

He consulted Colbert's wife about what made the most sense for the Lord of the Rings fan.

Tapper unveiled a painting of Colbert as Gollum.

Jake Tapper made sure to give Stephen Colbert a precious sendoff.

The CNN anchor appeared on The Late Show this week, and knowing it was likely his final time guesting before Colbert signs off, he brought a gift for the J.R.R. Tolkien superfan, whose next gig happens to be writing a Lord of the Rings film.

"I was thinking about how special you are to me, and how special this show [is]," Tapper said to Colbert, who he described as "tough to shop for."

So he opted to make a gift instead. Apparently Tapper was an art minor in college and "dabbles" in painting, so he began brainstorming what he could paint for Colbert. When a staff member suggested a Hobbit or wizard because of his passion for Lord of the Rings, Tapper sought the counsel of Colbert's wife, Evelyn.

“She was like, 'He's got plenty of those. He doesn't need another 'Stephen Colbert as a Hobbit.' He doesn't need another 'Stephen Colbert as a wizard,'" Tapper shared.

Saying he wanted to stick with the Middle-earth theme, Tapper then unveiled his masterpiece: Colbert as the ring-loving Gollum.

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"It's beautiful," Colbert declared, before dropping Gollum's famous line, "My precious."

Colbert's final Late Show episode is set for May 21, but he's already hard at work on The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past, which he's developing with his screenwriter son Peter and LOTR co-writer Philippa Boyens.

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"The thing I found myself reading over and over again were the six chapters early on in [The Fellowship of the Ring] that y'all never developed into the first movie back in the day," Colbert told LOTR director Peter Jackson when the project was announced. "I thought, 'Oh, wait, maybe that could be its own story that could fit into the larger story. Could we make something that was completely faithful to the books, while also being completely faithful to the movies that you guys had already made?'"

Next up for LOTR is the Dec. 2027 release of Andy Serkis' The Hunt for Gollum.

on Entertainment Weekly

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