In 2015, the South African comedian Trevor Noah was plucked from relative obscurity to succeed Jon Stewart as the host of The Daily Show. On its face this seemed an unenviable task; Stewart had hosted for 16 years and it seemed unclear what the show would even be independent of his liberal bona fides and New York sensibility. But Noah’s wit and insight quickly made him a darling of the US left and by bringing an outsider’s perspective – both as a Black man and a recent immigrant – to late-night TV, Noah successfully pushed the show into the social media age.
Since departing in 2022, Noah has kept busy, launching a podcast, hosting the Grammys, and winning the prestigious Erasmus prize in 2023. He’s now publishing his first children’s book, Into the Uncut Grass. A spiritual successor to his bestselling memoir, Born a Crime, it’s a coming-of-age story written in the shadow of the last days of apartheid. He sat down for a grilling about his inspiration, influences and creative process from a gaggle of fellow authors.
I think people will be surprised to see that Into the Uncut Grass is kind of a picture book. Did the idea take you by surprise, too? Frank Cottrell-Boyce, children’s laureate 2024-2026
No it didn’t because it was something I’ve always wanted to do. It’s an idea I have always romanticised because the picture books I grew up with, like Where the Wild Things Are, were some of my favourite fables and stories. Children’s picture books don’t allow you to spend 400 pages getting into intricate details. I guess what surprised me was how hard it is to actually do, being so concise while containing feeling and emotion.
What was the spark – the first seed of an idea – that got you started on this story? Harlan Coben, mystery novel author
The seed was going to therapy and realising the reasons adults can’t resolve conflict is because of things we were not taught as children: how to communicate through a disagreement; how to hold conflicting but equally valid opinions; how to compromise; how to see ourselves in relation to others. We are not taught these things as children, and then we wonder why as adults we struggle to come to those realisations. It’s much harder when you’re an adult because you’re entrenched in your views of the world. So the spark was thinking: what would some of those lessons be and how would those lessons be necessary in today’s world?
Like you, I’ve written about my mother in fiction and memoir. What positive effects have writing about your mother-son relationship had on that relationship in real life? Dean Atta, poet
One of the biggest positive effects is that it’s forced me in a very active way to think about why I appreciate my mother, and to see her as a human being and not just as a mother. We never really spend time thinking of our parents as human beings because we are tied to them. It helped me understand why I love my mother beyond because you’re supposed to. When you write about somebody, you get to understand all the shades and layers that make them who they are to you.
How daunting was it taking over from Jon Stewart on The Daily Show and what advice if any did he give? Louis Theroux, broadcaster and author
It was extremely daunting. Just the stress of starting a new position on television that was on every day of the week. Plus I was taking over a beloved position from an institution and a person who had – and continues to have – an indelible impression on American politics. The best advice I got was from Jon Stewart himself, who was gracious enough to show me how much people didn’t believe in him when he took over the show. It was before social media, but he was slammed by the critics. People wrote articles about how he was doomed to fail. I think it was really wonderful of him to show me that there was a time when he was doubted and nobody thought he could do it. Now he seemed like the most obvious choice. The advice he gave me was: just grind away until somebody notices what you’ve created.
What was the worst advice you were given as a child? Adam Kay, former doctor and writer
I think the worst advice was that you have to try to fit in. You’d meet somebody you don’t get along with and you’d be told: “Just tolerate it for now.” It’s only in later life that you realise that a prison comes with not being yourself around the people you wish to build a life with. So that was probably the worst advice I got as a kid: people telling me to suck it up so that I could maintain connections with other people in my life. The advice I would give a kid today would be: “Be yourself as much as you can.” Some people you’ll lose along the way, but the ones you keep will know the real you.
You speak many languages. Do you use voice-recognition tech in different languages? Susie Dent, Countdown lexicographer and author
I don’t use any of the talking assistance, actually. I think they’re stilted and stiff, and I spend more time correcting them than actually getting the information that I’m looking for. I wouldn’t even know how many languages they do or don’t speak. How many languages do I speak? It changes depending on how much I get to practise them. Right now I speak … let me think … English, Zulu, Afrikaans, Tsonga. My German’s not fluent, but I can get by. I’m trying to learn Spanish, so I’ll call it five and a quarter.
Apparently you made 315 jokes about President Trump’s first 100 days in office. What was your favourite? Joel Golby, author of Four Stars: A Life. Reviewed, published by Mudlark, out now
I’m going to assume that these jokes were all made on The Daily Show. My only response to that would be I did not make 300 jokes about Trump’s first 100 days in office. I would argue that Trump made 300 things happen that were worthy of being joked about in his first 100 days of office. And so I only observed them and commented on them. I think one of my favourites was when he went into the White House and he got the tour from President Obama. It was hilarious to see how easily taken he was by Barack Obama, leaving him a really lovely note. Trump came into the White House almost antagonistically. He had this bluster that he ran his whole campaign with. After he read the note that Obama had left for him on the desk, Trump almost turned into a romantic in a war movie where they were reading a beautiful letter from their love. One of the more funny stories for me was just how he recounted the story of the letter that Obama left for him.
Who is the most annoying man and woman in the world you’ve ever met? Konnie Huq, TV presenter, screenwriter and children’s author
The most annoying are people in airplanes who stand up before the plane has stopped fully, pull their bags out of the overhead, and then proceed to block other people from standing up when we’re all trying to get out of the airplane. They are in such a desperate need that they’ll crush you and your family to death so that they can get to the baggage carousel two minutes earlier. I think those are the most annoying men and women in the world. I don’t know their names, nor do I wish to know their names.
I’ve just written Shadow Play, based on the classic TV show UFO from the 1970s. Have you ever had a close encounter yourself? James Swallow, author and scriptwriter
Sometimes we look up into the skies, but I don’t know. I feel like if extraterrestrials are as advanced as they are, they can probably disguise themselves to be just like us. I’ve met a few people where I’ve thought to myself: “Yeah, you’re probably an alien.” I try to be as nice to them as possible so that when they come back and invade, they’ll remember me and think: “Oh yeah, that guy was pretty nice. We won’t kill him.”
What are the five key elements of a great rollercoaster? Stuart Heritage, Guardian writer and children’s author
I don’t know why it says that I like rollercoasters on my IMDb page. It is true, though. I love rollercoasters. What are some of the key elements? Number one, seating position. Rollercoasters that deviate from the norm have an advantage over rollercoasters where you’re seated in a regular position because your body already feels uncomfortable and primed for something that is going to scare it. A great rollercoaster needs to put you in a position where you are able to see the people beside you. I think it adds to the terror that you’ll experience collectively. Another element of a good rollercoaster is the initial suspense, the initial ascent. It has to have few crazy turns that completely confuse your orientation. You should not know where up is or down. The rollercoaster should also ride around the queue where people are waiting because the suspense is part of how you actually experience the ride. South Africa has many famous things, but we never had a famous rollercoaster. Maybe that’s why I love them.
Into the Uncut Grass (illustrated by Sabina Hahn), published by John Murray, is out now. Noah hosts the weekly Spotify Original podcast What Now? With Trevor Noah. He appears in conversation about his new book in London with Waterstones on 27 November and with Fane on 29 November.
