WHOSE NEW MOVIE "HONEST THIEF" WILL BE OUT OCTOBER 9.

WE LOVE HIM HERE ON THIS SHOW SO MUCH.

PLEASE WELCOME THE REMARKABLE, ANTHONY RAMOS!

HE'S HERE!

HOW ARE YOU, YOU GOOD?

>> SO GOOD TO SEE YOU, MAN.

>> James: WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE YOU RIGHT NOW?

>> BUDAPEST RIGHT NOW SHOOTING, FILMING, WORKING.

>> James: WHAT ARE YOU SHOOTING?

>> A SPACE MOVIE CALLED "DISTANCE."

>> James: ANY MOVIE ABOUT DISTANCE IS PERFECT FOR THE

CORONAVIRUS.

>> COULD NOT BE MORE RELEVANT SO I HOPE EVERYONE LIKES IT WHEN IT

COMES OUT IN 2086.

>> James: 2020 HAS BEEN TERRIBLE FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE BUT

YOU HAVE HAD A QUITE INCREDIBLE SUMMER.

OBVIOUSLY, "HAMILTON" WAS RELEASED ON DISNEY +.

IT'S BEEN A STAPLE IN MY HOUSE WITH THE KIDS THE WHOLE SUMMER.

I'M INTERESTED TO KNOW, WHEN YOU WATCHED IT BACK, HOW DID IT FEEL

FOR YOU WATCHING IT, HAVING DISTANCE BETWEEN WHEN YOU WERE

LAST PERFORMING ON STAGE?

>> I MEAN, IT WAS WILD, MAN.

IT WAS A BLAST FROM THE PAST.

JASMINE AND I WATCHED IT AT OUR APARTMENT, AND WE INVITED

HURRICANE LEASE MULLIGAN OVER.

WE SAT THERE AND THE MOVIE ENDED AND WE GOT EMOTIONAL.

WE HELD EACH OTHER.

WE CIRCLED UP AND HELD EACH OTHER FOR AT LEAST, LIKE, THREE

TO FIVE MINUTES, MAN.

JUST REALLY, LIKE, WE COULDN'T BELIEVE WE MADE THAT, MAN.

IT'S CRAZY.

JUST FIVE YEARS LATER, WATCHING ON THE SCREEN.

AND BASICALLY, LIKE, YO, THIS IS IMMORTALIZED.

>> James: BUT WHEN YOU AUDITIONED FOR THE SHOW, YOU

DIDN'T EVEN HAVE AN AGENT WHEN YOU MET MANUEL MIRANDA.

THAT'S GOING TO ANNOY LOTS OF YOUNG ASPIRING ACTORS OUT THERE.

HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN?

HOW DID YOU COME TO BE IN "HAMILTON"?

>> I WAS DOING A CRUISE SHIP, A ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISELINE,

LIBERTY OF THE SEAS, I WAS DOING SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, THE

MUSICAL.

I WAS ON THERE NINE AND A HALF MONTHS.

I COME OFF THIS SHIP AND THEN I HAD GOTTEN A JOB DOING A SHOW AT

RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL, THEY EQUIVALENT TO THE CHRISTMAS

SPECTACULAR, BUT IT WAS FOR SPRING.

SO WE'RE IN REHEARSALS.

THESE ARE ON OPEN AUDITIONS.

I'M CASTINGS, BACKSTAGE, WHENEVER YOU COULD FIND THE

AUDITIONS IN NEW YORK.

I AUDITION AND GET THE JOB, EVEN BEFORE I LEFT THE SHIP, I GOT AN

EMAIL WHILE I WAS IN ITALY.

OH, WE WANT YOU.

THANK GOD BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WAS GOING TO DO AFTER THE

SHIP.

BUT BASICALLY THE SHOW GETS CANCELED A WEEK BEFORE PREVIEWS.

BUT WHILE WE WERE REHEARSING FOR THE SHOW I WENT TO ANOTHER OPEN

AUDITION AT ANOTHER CAST COMPANY IN NEW YORK, AND I SANG AIN'T

TOO PROUD TO BEG FROM THE TEMPTATIONS.

CAST DIRECTOR SAID GREAT JOB.

HE HAD RED GLASSES AND SAT SO FAR AWAY.

I SAID, COOL.

GOT AN EMAIL FOR "HAMILTON."

I SAID YOABTS WHAT THIS IS.

LOOKED AT IT, LIN-MANUEL, ALL THE SAME GUYS IN THE HEIGHTS.

NEXT THING YOU KNOW, FAST FORWARD, I DID FOUR AUDITIONS,

THEY CALLED ME BACK, THEY DIDN'T KNOW HOW IT WOULD WORK OUT WITH

THE OTHER SCHEDULE.

BUT I GOT FIRED FRIDAY AT 1:00, THEN AT 4:00, THEY'RE, LIKE, YO,

WE HEARD YOUR JOB CANCELED, WE WANT YOU FOR "HAMILTON"'S MIXED

TAPE.

>> James: OH, MY GOD.

THE WHOLE CAST, WE EMPTIED OUT ALL THE FRIDGES OF ALCOHOL,

ALL PARTYING, THE LAST HOORAH.

I GET THE CALL, MAN, AND I WAS, LIKE, MAN, I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS,

YOU KNOW, SO THAT'S HOW IT HAPPENED.

>> James: ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.

NOW YOU'RE IN THE HEIGHTS MOVIE WHICH WE HOPE SO MUCH IS GOING

TO COME OUT NEXT YEAR AND I FOR ONE AM GOING TO BE FIRST IN LINE

TO SEE IT.

THE TRAILER ALONE GOT ME HUGELY EXCITED.

BUT YOU'VE ALSO GOT THIS INCREDIBLE MUSIC CAREER AND

AFTER THE BREAK YOU WILL PERFORM YOUR NEW SINGLE "STOP."

TELL US ABOUT THE SONG.

WHAT'S THE MESSAGE BEHIND IT?

>> "STOP," YOU KNOW, "STOP" WAS WRITTEN FOR -- YOU KNOW, I JUST

DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO DO THAT.

MY LIFE.

SOMETHING THAT I STILL AM WORKING ON.

THE SONG I WROTE BEFORE THIS PANDEMIC, LIKE, IT WAS -- I

WROTE THIS SONG ON MARCH 3.

I GUESS THE PANDEMIC WAS BEGINNING OR BEING PUBLICIZED AT

THAT POINT.

BUT MARCH 3, I WAS ON A TWO-MONTH TRIP FOR WRITING.

I WROTE THE SONG.

IT WAS ABOUT MY LIFE.

I WANTED TO LEARN HOW TO BE PRESENT IN THE MOMENT AND TAKE

IN EVERY MOMENT IN MY LIFE AND ENJOY IT.

IF I'M JUST SITTING WITH YOU AND TALKING WITH YOU, JAMES, I'M

WITH YOU AND NOT THINKING ABOUT NOTHING ELSE.

IF I'M ON A HIKE, THAT'S WHAT I'M DOING.

IF I'M BY MYSELF IN A ROOM, THAT'S WHAT I'M DOING, AND

REALLY TRYING TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT.

MARCH 4, I FRY BACK HOME, AND A WEEK OR TWO LATER, THE WORLD

STOPPED.

THE COUNTRY STOPPED.

THE COUNTRY SHUT DOWN, AND I WAS REALLY FORCED TO STOP.

AND THE SONG WAS JUST, LIKE, DANG, THIS FEELS LIKE THE

CRAZIEST FORESHADOWING.

THIS TOTALLY WAS NOT MEANT -- THIS WASN'T ABOUT THIS MOMENT IN

THE WORLD'S TIME, IT WAS ABOUT A MOMENT IN MY LIFE THAT HAS NOW

BECOME -- THIS SONG FEELS LIKE IT'S BECOME ABOUT THIS MOMENT IN

THE WORLD, YOU KNOW, AND NOT EVEN JUST IN AMERICA BUT AROUND

THE WORLD, WE ALL STOPPED TOGETHER.

AND FINDING THE DISWROIS AND THE LOVE AND THE BEAUTY IN THE

MOMENTS WHERE WE GET TO BE STILL.

>> James: WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

I'M SO HAPPY EVERYTHING HAPPENING IN YOUR LIFE AND

CAREER AND I'M SO HAPPY YOU WILL BE PERFORMING AFTER THE BREAK.

STICK AROUND, ANTHONY RAMOS WILL BE HERE PERFORMING RIGHT AFTER

THIS.

COME ON BACK, EVERYBODY.