It's fair to say James Cordon is doing pretty well for himself these days. The 37-year-old is currently presenting the iconic Late Late Show and he's subsequently become a household name across the pond.
His latest 'Carpool Karaoke' segment went viral instantly and featured First Lady Michelle Obama, which is a pretty huge fucking deal when you remember he was once just a normal lad from Hillingdon.
Previous guests have included some of the biggest superstars on the planet such as Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Adele. In fact, it seems like nobody is off limits.
Before he was rubbing shoulders with A-listers, though, Cordon had a pretty successful career as an actor in the UK and appeared in several British television series.
From saying he'd 'rather die' than go back on Hollyoaks, his rise from there has been stratospheric.
From 2000 through to early 2005, he starred in ITV's Fat Friends as Jamie Rymer, where he met Ruth Jones. The pair went on to co-create and write Gavin & Stacey together, which was acclaimed as a hit breakthrough show for BBC Three and won several awards.
He also struck up a romance outside of work with Sheridan Smith and the pair dated for seven years before they split in 2009.
Once the show had finished, he landed a role in 'The History Boys' in the West End and went on to star in the 2006 British film adaptation of the play.
He then teamed up with Mathew Horne again, who played Gavin in Gavin & Stacey, and the pair wrote a sitcom together which flopped and then an (abysmal) film called Lesbian Vampire Killers. (Remember that?! God it was bad). That also flopped and the pair were slammed by critics. But it wasn't just their reputations that suffered - the pair's friendship fell apart and it's unclear if they are now even still in contact.
Rumours then began circulating in the industry that Corden was acting like a bit of a nob and he was labelled 'arrogant' and 'rude'. However, things seemed to turn themselves around when he returned to the West End to star in the production of 'One Man, Two Guvnors'.
He then went on to play Britain's Got Talent winner Paul Potts in a film called One Chance (again, abysmal).
In 2013 he managed to land a role in a Hollywood musical fantasy film called Into The Woods, where he starred alongside the likes of Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp.
Despite having making a name for himself in the US, though, he continued to host A League Of Their Own in the UK and has been hired to host the BRIT Awards several times. Remember the time he was forced to cut Adele off during her acceptance speech? Damn.
However, it wasn't until September 2014 that he got his biggest break and it was announced he would take over Craig Ferguson as host of the Late Late Show.
Whether you're a fan of him or not, you can't deny he's fucking killing it and also flying the flag for Britain. He'll always be Smithy to me, though.
Keep smashing it Smithy, lad.
Words by Sian Broderick
Featured Image Credit: