Conan O’Brien Talks Taking Over The ‘Tonight Show’ Reigns

In less than a month, funnyman Conan O’Brien is stepping in as the new host of the “Tonight Show.” But rather than be nervous about his June 1 start date, Conan is buzzing.

“I’m very excited about this next thing,” he told Parade magazine’s May 10 issue. “And I know that it’s going to test me and change me, and it’s going to do everything that [previous show] ‘Late Night’ did. But this is a period of my life that’s done now. I will never be that young again. I will never be that naive again. I’ll never be that unknown again. And I’ll never be tested quite that way again.”

Although he is very excited about the job, he knows taking the chair once occupied by Johnny Carson and currently, Jay Leno, is a weighty task.

“It’s a huge responsibility,” Conan said. “But I can’t let that be in my head all the time. The biggest danger to me right now would be overthinking. When I am comfortable and having a good time, it works. I think that, at my best, I’m just a silly man having fun.”

Conan said he is eager to fill the seat, however, as the redhead likes nothing more than a good old fashioned challenge.

“I like being tested,” he said. “I really do. I get as scared as anyone when I’m tested. But the feeling of putting yourself on the line and really putting your talent out there, and betting on yourself and having it work, is the most exhilarating feeling in the world.”

But he still feels sadness over having left “Late Night” earlier this year.

“I think I was feeling what a lot of people feel when they go to a place to do work for a long period of time, and then they have to leave,” he said. “That show –which, by the way, was the scariest thing that I’ve ever undertaken — changed my life and gave me so much. Most of the people that I’m closest to in my life work on that show. I met my wife through that show, and we have children now.”