>> James: NICE TO SEE YOU HERE.
TANKS FOR COMING TO SEE US. HOW ARE WE DOING?
IN HE IS. LOOK AT THAT.
>> SURPRISE. >> James: I HONESTLY THOUGHT
YOU WERE GOING TO GO THE WHOLE SHOW.
AND I WAS LIKE. >> OH, DAMN, I 14UD HAVE KEPT IT
ON.3 >> James: NO, IT IS ALL UP TO
YOU. HOW ARE YOU DOING, SO THRILLED,
BOTH HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME, NOW LAKEITH, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU
KNOW THIS, YOUR NAME WAS TRENDING THE OTHER DAY FROM THIS
PHOTO, FROM REPLICA MAN, THE MAGAZINE POSTED ONLINE, LOTS OF
PEOPLE-- I LOVE IT. HOW DID WE LAND ON THIS LOOK.
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE AMOUNT OF ATTENTION THAT IT GRABBED?
>> WELL, I HAD A-- I NEVER LIKE TO WEAR SHORTS, SO I DECIDED IN
THAT PHOTO SHOOT I WOULD CHALLENGE THAT INSECURITY AND DO
SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAT MADE ME FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE BUT THAT
WOULD BE REWARDING AT THE SAME TIME.
SO I THREW ON THE SHORTS, THROUGH ON THE SOCKS AND I WAS
ACTUALLY LOOKING AT SOMETHING ON THE WALL AND THE GUY SNAPPED THE
PHOTO AND I ALWAYS SIT LIKE, I LIKE TO BE COMFORTABLE SO I SIT
LIKE THIS. AND BOOM, THERE IT GOES, LIKE A
LITTLE HAPPY ACCIDENTED. >> James: THESE ARE GOOD LEGS.
>> THANK YOU. >> I CAN CONFIRM THAT, THOSE ARE
GOOD LEGS. >> James: RYAN, HAVE YOU GOT
THE LEGS TO PULL THIS OFF? >> I LIKE SITTING LIKE THAT TOO,
LET ME SEE. >> James: YEAH, I THINK YOU
DO. >> SOCCER LEGS.
>> James: I THINK YOU DO. >> YEAH.
>> James: I ACTUALLY THINK I'M AT MY BEST FROM THE KNEE DOWN.
>> YOU HAVE AMAZING CALFS. >> James: FROM THE KNEE DOWN.
>> LEG CHALLENGE, EVERYBODY GET OUT THERE, PUT YOUR LEGS OUT
THERE. OR DO SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE
AFRAID TO DO BUT NOW YOU ARE NOT AFRAID TO DO IT NO MORE.
>> James: THAT'S IT, THAT IS VERY, VERY GOOD ADVICE FOR
EVERYBODY. NOW RYAN, OF COURSE MOST PEOPLE
KNOW YOU AS A SINGER-SONGWRITER BUT YOU STARTED OUT, FIRST OF
ALL WHEN YOU WERE AT SCHOOL, DID YOU DO LOTS OF MUSICAL THEATER.
>> YES. >> James: WHAT SORT OF SHOWS
DID YOU DO. >> OKLAHOMA, FUNNY ENOUGH, SOME
LIKE IT HOT. >> James: OH YEAH.
>> I WAS ACTUALLY IN THE MID LATE '90S, CENTRAL OKLAHOMA OUT
IN THE COUNTRY. I WAS IN FULL DRAG WHICH WAS
REALLY POPULAR AT THE TIME. SO YEAH, THAT WAS, FROM THE
FOOTBALL FIELD STRAIGHT TO REHEARSAL AND BACK.
I WAS BASICALLY THAT GUY FROM GLEE.
LITERALLY GLEE CAME OUT AND IT WAS FIN, THE NAME OF THE
CHARACTER, LITERALLY I WOULD SNEAK FROM FOOTBALL PRACTICE AND
BASKETBALL INTO THE THEATER, THROW ON THE DRESS, DO THE GIG
AND THEN YEAH, THE REST IS HISTORY.
>> James: I LOVE THAT, MY SCHOOL WAS THE SAME EXCEPT FOR
THE FOOTBALL PRACTICE. I DIDN'T TAKE PART IN THAT YOU
RECENTLY WENT HOME, BACK TO VICTDERVILLE AND YOU SPOKE TO
YOUR HIGH SCHOOL DRAMA TEACHER AND THE STUDENTS.
WHAT WAS THAT LIKE FOR YOU, MUST HAVE BEEN QUITE AN AMAZING
MOMENT. >> IS THAT GOOSE, IT IS HOT,
YOUR WHOLE SUIT IS AWESOME. >> James: YEAH, MAN.
>> I WENT BACK HOME AND IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL THING, IT WAS WEIRD
BECAUSE I GOT SOME SUCCESS AND I COME BACK IN THE NICE CAR, HAD A
LAMBORGHINI, I PULLED BACK UP HOME AND IT WAS A STARK CONTRAST
OF WHERE I CAME FROM TO WHERE I PLAYED IT TO, WAS ASTOUNDING TO
ME AND A BEAUTIFUL POETIC METAPHOR FOR HOW FAR HI COME.
IT WAS DIFFICULT TO GET OUTSIDE OF MY HOMETOWN.
I NEVER THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO GO OUTSIDE LET A ENLO SEE THE
WORLD. SO IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL THING TO
BRING BACK A GIFT TO WHICH LIVE FROM.
AND NOT ONLY THE GIFT OF YOU CAN DO THIS AND YOU REQUEST MAKE IT
OUT, BUT ALSO I COULD TALK TO THE PEOPLE AND DIRECTLY TELL
THEM DON'T THINK YOU CAN'T DO SOMETHING.
CUZ YOU CAN BECAUSE I WAS EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE.
SO GOING BACK TO MY DRAMA TEACHER, SHE WAS ONE OF THE ONLY
TEACHERS I REALLY LIKED. I HAD A HARD TIME FOLLOWING
INSTRUCTION. >> SAME, SAME, THAT WAS THE ONE
WHO GOT ME LITERALLY, SHE IS WHY I AM HERE TODAY, SORRY TO CUT
YOU OFF. >> SO I GOT TO SIT DOWN WITH
HER, SHE INTRODUCED ME TO ALL HER STUDENTS AND IT WAS COOL TO
TALK TO THEM, AND BASICALLY SAID KEEP GOING.
SO IT WAS FUN. >> James: IT IS AN AMAZING
THING WHEN YOU GO BACK TO SCHOOL OR HOME, ARE YOU SUDDENLY AWARE
OF THE ROAD THAT YOU TRAVELED WHICH WHEN ARE YOU TRAVELING THE
WHOLE TIME, YOU DON'T EXPERIENCE THAT, I MEAN NOW RYAN YOU HAVE
WRITTEN SONGS, SOME OF THE BIGGEST ARTISTS IN THE WORLD.
WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO A STUDIO AND WITH SOME OF THESE, LIKE
WHEN ADELE AND PEOPLE LIKE THAT COME IN, WHAT DO YOU DO, DAY ONE
TO SET THE SCENE BEFORE YOU STAFORT D WRITING A SONG, WHAT
DO YOU DO? >> SMELL IS IMPORTANT, AS THE
SAGE THAT WAS UNBEING BACKSTAGE, SAGE IS IMPORTANT, ALL LIGHT,
LIGHT CANDLES. I SHOW UP 30 MINUTES BEFORE THE
SESSION AND LET'S RALLY JUST THINK ABOUT THAT ARTIST, WHAT DO
I WANT TO HEAR THEM SAY, WHAT HAVE THEY NOT SAID, ARE THEY IN
A RELATIONSHIP. ONCE THEY SHOW UP, THE FIRST
HOUR OF EVERY WRITING SESSION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE
ARTIST TELLS YOU WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO WRITE ABOUT, THEY DON'T
KNOW THEY ARE TELLING YOU BUT IF YOU ARE LIKE ADELE OR MILEY, YOU
BURST THROUGH THE DOOR AND ARE SPILLING YOUR GUTS.
IM SITTING HERE LISTENING, THAT IS THE PHRASE, THAT IS WHAT WE
ARE GOING TO WRITE TODAY. SONG WRITING IS 50% THERAPY AND
BECOME EMPATHETIC AND LISTENING AND THE REST IS LIKE TALENT AND
ACTIVATION AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS.
>> LAKEITH, ATLANTA IS BACK, THE THIRD SEASON.
I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PLACES,
SOME OF THE PLACES YOU SHOT THE SHOW WHAT WERE YOUR FAVORITE
PLACES AND WHAT CAN WE EXPECT IN THIS NEW SEASON.
>> WE SHOT IN PARIS, AMSTERDAM, LONDON.
ONE OF THE BEST PLACES FOR ME WAS AMSTERDAM, I LOVE BEING OUT
THERE, EXPERIENCE, EXPERIMENTING WITH THE EXPERIENCE IN
CONSCIOUSNESS AND SEEING WHERE YOU CAN GO, EXPERIMENT WITH
THINGS THERE, IT IS MUCH MORE LIBERALLY ACCEPTED IN CERTAIN
PARTS SO I LOVE THAT PART. AN WE SHOT IN THE RED LIGHT
DISTRICT WHICH WAS REALLY INTERESTING BECAUSE THERE WERE
PEOPLE WHO, GET THIS, LIVE THERE, PEOPLE LIVE THERE.
>> James: YEAH, ARE YOU IN SOHO.
>> I DIDN'T KNOW PEOPLE LIVED THERE AND THERE WAS THERE GUY
LIVED BOFD WHERE WE WERE SHOOTING AND WAS KIND OF
HARASSING US THE WHOLE TIME. HE WAS TRYING TO GET IN WITH THE
RED LIGHT STUFF, AND WE WERE LIKE NO, WE'RE FILMING.
OH, OKAY, BUT I STILL WANT TO GET IN, NO, YOU CAN'T GET IN.
>> James: YOU AND DONALD TRUMP, DID YOU CLICK STRAIGHT
AWAY, HOW DID YOU MEET. >> YEAH, IT WAS A TRIP BECAUSE
WE MET A LITTLE HOLLYWOOD GET TOGETHER WHERE YOU GO TO NETWORK
AND ALL THE UPCOMING ACTORS AND ACT RESES AND DIRECTORS
CONGREGATE AND I WAS JUST DANCING BY MYSELF, BECAUSE I
DON'T REALLY LOOK AT OTHER PEOPLE FROM OUT FRONT, DO I, SO
I JUMPED ON THE STAGE, STARTED DANCING AND THEN I LOOKED UP AND
HE WAS LIKE I THINK YOU ARE PERFECT FOR THIS ROLE.
>> James: JUST THAT, JUST ON A DANCE ROUTINE.
>> YEAH, BECAUSE I THINK HE UNDERSTOOD DARIUS WOULD NEED
CERTAIN LAYERS THAT I WAS EXPRESSING AT THE TIME.
>> James: I LOVE THAT I CAN NOT WAIT FOR THE SHOW, THE THIRD
SEASON OF ATLANTA PREMIERS SUNDAY MARCH 24th.
OF FX AND THE FEKS DAY ON HULU. STICK AROUND, WE'LL BE RIGHT
BACK, EVERYBODY.