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In his seven-year tenure as host of "The Late Late Show," comedian Craig Ferguson learned something that some other talk show hosts haven't mastered: Fans like it when you keep it real.

Ferguson has been highly successful since he took over the CBS late-night gig from Craig Kilborn in 2005. Fans enjoy his hilarious banter and funny one-liners, but they tune in mostly to hear his outrageous off-the-cuff humor.

Just ask fellow comic Drew Carey, who told the Washington Post last week that "Craig Ferguson is the new Johnny Carson."

Ferguson, he explained, has a knack for making people on his show feel like his equal. And that includes Geoff Peterson, the robot skeleton sidekick.

Taking a break from TV, Ferguson performs Wednesday at the Orpheum Theatre, 409 S. 16th St. Tickets range from $38 to $58.

We recently spoke with him on the phone about his spontaneous comedy, memorable interviews and inappropriate jokes:

Q. You've had such great success with late-night TV. What's your secret?

A. I'm probably the last guy on earth who could tell you that. I don't watch the show.

Q. What do you mean?

A. I know how it turns out most nights. So very rarely do I go back to watch.

Q. Is it true that most of the show is completely unscripted?

A. We kept it joyful and spontaneous.

Q. So there's no written monologue?

A. We don't really script the show. We map out an outline of a monologue, but we don't always follow it. For a lot of shows, that's how it used to be. But that kind of drifted away a little bit through a desire to be professional. And that's right. We want to be professional. But it doesn't always work. Some nights I'll do 50 percent or 80 percent or zero of what the monologue says. The opening of the show, that's not scripted at all. No one knows what's going to happen until we turn the cameras on.

Q. And Geoff?

A. Geoff the robot is completely unscripted. The guests ... unscripted. No one knows what's going to happen. Me ... I'm 15 percent scripted. Occasionally, we'll do a sketch. And that's scripted.

Q. So what's Geoff's deal? He doesn't like Omaha? (During a segment, Ferguson asked Geoff if he's ever been to Omaha. The robot's response: "No, god, no." See a video clip on omaha.com)

A. Oh, that was just a scene. I don't think he was thinking about it too much. He was trying to be funny. He might have failed.

Q. I'd say so.

A. (Laughter.)

Q. Do you have a favorite or most-memorable interview?

A. Interview? I don't know how to do that. Barbara Walters interviews. I just talk to people and hope that it doesn't get too annoying. But I'd have to say Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He's the most influential person I've met. I don't know if I know of someone who has had a story as remarkable as that. He has profoundly influenced how the world is moving and has moved. A historical figure. And ... anytime I talk to Betty White.

Q. Why Betty?

A. She's Betty White.

Q. What has surprised you most about your job?

A. Over time (I've been doing this for seven years) you don't actually retain much or remember all the shows. The first 100 or so you remember. Then it's too much. I can look at a clip of an old show for research or something and I can have absolutely no memory of doing it. I wonder how much of my life I can't actually remember.

Q. I've heard that you've pulled the plug on some Charlie Sheen and Britney Spears jokes. So comedians have limits?

A. When people say is there anything off limits, my answer: Yes. There is stuff that makes me feel sad or cheap. What I try and do is work to a personal code of ethics. Just because you're a comedian, this is what I say to myself, I don't believe it gives me the right to say anything I damn well please. The First Amendment gives me that right, but I choose whether or not I exercise it.

Q. What can "Late, Late Show" fans expect from your live show?

A. If they know me on TV, they know what they're in for.

Q. Unrestricted cussing?

A. (Laughter.) I do cuss a bit and the jokes are a little dirtier.