Watch Robert Plant & Stephen Colbert nerd out on ‘Lord of the Rings on ‘The Late Show’

Robert Plant‘s appearance on The Late Show Tuesday turned into a surprise J.R.R. Tolkien nerd-fest.

In speaking with host Stephen Colbert, the Led Zeppelin icon was asked about living in the same area where the author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit once resided.

“Tolkien was a master,” Plant began before asking Colbert if he’d heard the writer’s audio recordings. Colbert, whose love for all things Middle-earth is so well known that it got him a cameo in one of the Hobbit movies, then proceeded to recite Tolkien’s writings word for word.

“That’s magnificent,” an impressed Plant, who would reference The Lord of the Rings in Led Zeppelin lyrics, responded as he shook Colbert’s hands. 

After exchanging a few more Tolkien tidbits, Plant then asked Colbert, “Fancy a drink afterwards?”

“I’ve got a spear in the car,” Plant quipped, to which Colbert responded, “I’ve got a shield up there.”

In addition to geeking out over Tolkien, Plant released a new album, Saving Grace, in September.

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