In 1999, 18-year-old Corden made his professional theatre debut in the ensemble of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s musical. The world-premiere production in London's West End was based on the real-life story of an alleged imposter and religious conflict in rural France in the 16th century.

Martin Guerre underwent significant changes throughout its run post-opening, and it ultimately won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical.

Following early television appearances, Corden appeared in Alan Bennett’s play The History Boys directed by Nicholas Hytner from 2004-06. Led by the late Richard Griffiths as Hector, an unconventional teacher at a boys’ school in the north of England, the play helped to launch the careers of numerous young actors playing the students, including Dominic Cooper, Russell Tovey, Jamie Parker, and, of course, Corden himself as Timms, the class clown.

The production won three Olivier Awards, including Best New Play. Following an international tour, the original cast took the show to Broadway, where it won six Tonys, including Best Play. They went on to record their performances for posterity in the 2006 film adaptation, also directed by Hytner.

In 2007, Corden began playing the role of Neil “Smithy” Smith in the sitcom Gavin & Stacey, which he co-created. It proved an enormous hit in Britain, where it remains his signature role. In 2011's One Man, Two Guvnors, adapted by Richard Bean from a 1743 Italian comedy, he played the food-loving and accident-prone Francis Henshall, a character with quite a bit in common with his Gavin & Stacey counterpart. Nicholas Hytner again directed.

Audiences and critics adored this uproarious 1960s-set farce, and Corden was nominated for an Olivier Award for his performance. When the production transferred to Broadway in 2012, he won the Tony for Best Actor in a Play.

Stephen Sondheim’s beloved fairytale musical Into the Woods came to the big screen in 2014, directed by Rob Marshall and produced by Disney. Corden portrayed the Baker opposite Emily Blunt as the Baker’s Wife, Meryl Streep as the Witch, Anna Kendrick as Cinderella, and Chris Pine as Cinderella’s Prince. The film was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes.

Corden went on to appear in a string of movie musicals: as Bustopher Jones in Tom Hooper’s 2019 Cats film, opposite Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, and Taylor Swift; Barry Glickman in Ryan Murphy’s The Prom in 2020, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy; and James in the Camila Cabello-led Cinderella in 2021.

On The Late Late Show, Corden indulged his musical talents with the segment “Carpool Karaoke,” in which he sang with countless pop icons and Broadway stars. On one occasion, he, Audra McDonald, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jane Krakowski, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson performed a memorable medley of show tunes. And when he and Barbra Streisand took a drive together, the greatest star praised his harmonizing when they sang “The Way We Were” together. Could there be any greater compliment?

And, in the ingenious "Crosswalk the Musical," Corden, his “theatre company,” and special guests would perform numbers from musicals flashmob-style — at crosswalks, while vehicles were at a standstill. Guests included Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, and Allison Janney. Each one was truly traffic-stopping.

In 2024, Corden returned to the stage at London’s Old Vic in Joe Penhall's political play directed by Matthew Warchus (Matilda). Corden played Alec, a former soldier now working in security who confronts his local parliament member about his frustrations.

LondonTheatre.co.uk’s critic observed that “Corden begins in familiar motormouthed Smithy territory and lands all of the cheeky jokes… However that makes his transition into a desperate, unpredictable, even frightening man all the more effective.”

In fall 2025, Corden returns to Broadway for the first time in 13 years in a revival of Yasmina Reza’s Tony-winning play Art, directed by Scott Ellis (Pirates! The Penzance Musical, Doubt). He plays Yvan, who is caught in the middle of his two friends when one buys an expensive painting the other thinks is worthless. Corden co-stars with Neil Patrick Harris and Bobby Cannavale, and the philosophical style of comedy is different from all he’s done on stage before. He's definitely showing the art of versatility.

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