Troy Iwata Has Desi Lydic to Thank For His Daily Show Gig

For Troy Iwata, the door to The Daily Show was opened by a fellow correspondent.

In an interview with ABC News, Iwata revealed that the opportunity for him to appear on The Daily Show came from Desi Lydic. Lydic, who has been a correspondent for the show since 2015 (and is part of the current host rotation), appeared with Iwata in the 2024 film Space Cadet.

“At the end of shooting,” Iwata recalled, “[Lydic] just turned to me and said, ‘Would you be interested in auditioning for The Daily Show? I like the way you say things.’”

“I was like, ‘I don’t know what that means, but thank you,’” Iwata said. Less than a month later, he was offered the job.

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Iwata first appeared on The Daily Show as a “Senior Book Fair Expert” in October 2023. He was officially announced as a correspondent in April alongside Josh Johnson and Grace Kuhlenschmidt. This marked the first time in more than six years that The Daily Show had added any new correspondents. (Dulcé Sloan, who joined “The Best F*cking News Team on Television” in September 2017, was previously the most recent addition.)

“It’s the dream job that I never knew that I wanted,” Iwata told ABC News of the late-night gig.

Space Cadet releases on Amazon Prime Video on July 4. While Iwata has “a very small role,” he noted “it’s how I got the job on The Daily Show, so that’s why it’s special to me.”

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