Related : Jay Leno's Advice for Stephen Colbert

Jay Leno hosted The Tonight Show for 22 years and he spent almost all of that time atop the ratings, so he knows a thing or two about monologues, interviewing guests and what it takes to succeed as a late-night host on a major network.

And he thinks that Stephen Colbert is going to be great as David Letterman's replacement when the Colbert Report host assumes the Late Show throne at CBS next year.

"I think it's a real good choice," Leno told E! News' Jesse Giddings when we caught up with the comedian at his garage this week. "He's really funny and he's paid his dues. You know the people that do well at those jobs are the people that've paid their dues doing similar jobs, being a comedian on the road, doing a show on Comedy Central."