HOW ARE YOU?

>> I'M SO GOOD AND SO GOOD TO SEE YOU.

>> James: IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU.

I DON'T KNOW IF PEOPLE KNOW THIS, BUT BASICALLY, OUTSIDE MY

FAMILY, I FEEL LIKE YOU'RE THE PERSON I SAW THE MOST THIS YEAR

BEFORE COVID HAPPENS BECAUSE WE WERE SHOOTING THIS FILM

TOGETHER, A FILM CALLED "THE PROM," AND I MISS IT VERY MUCH.

IT FEELS LIKE ANOTHER WORLD NOW, DOESN'T IT?

>> IT DOES FEEL LIKE ANOTHER WORLD BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE WE

FELL INTO -- YOU KNOW, WE ALL GOT VERY COZY TOGETHER, AND THEN

TO HAVE THAT ALL RIPPED OUT FROM UNDER US WAS VERY ODD.

BUT I JUST GOT VERY USED TO SEEING YOUR FACE EVERY DAY, AND,

YOU KNOW, YOU WERE SORT OF MY, UM -- WELL, NOT SORT OF -- I

MEAN, YOU WERE MY ON-SET HUSBAND, LET'S BE HONEST.

>> James: I WAS VERY COMFORTABLE.

IT JUST BECAME SORT OF ANDREW AND JAMES.

>> IT REALLY WAS.

>> James: WE WERE NEVER MENTIONED ON OUR OWN.

>> WE CREATED A CLIQUE AND LEANED INTO THAT AND EXCLUDED

MERYL STREEP AND NICOLE KIDMAN FROM THAT.

( LAUGHTER ) >> James: WHAT WOULD A YOUNG

ANDREW RANNELLS THINK OF HIS LIFE RIGHT NOW TODAY?

>> HE WOULD HAVE LOST HIS MIND.

HE WOULD HAVE LOST HIS MIND.

THERE WAS A MOMENT DURING THAT FILM WHERE I FINALLY HAD THE

COURAGE TO TELL NICOLE EXACTLY HOW MUCH I LOVE MULAN ROUGE, AND

SHE REENACTED HER DEATH SCENE FOR ME.

( LAUGHTER ) AND I WAS, LIKE, NO ONE ELSE --

I MEAN, MAYBE SHE DOES IT ALL THE TIME, I DON'T KNOW.

BUT SHE DID THE WHOLE THING FOR ME.

SHE, LIKE, COUGHED AND DID ALL OF THE -- SHE WAS, LIKE, OH, IT

MEANS SO MUCH TO ME THAT YOU LIKED IT.

AND THEN SHE DID IT.

I SAID, NICOLE KIDMAN, YOU ARE DOWN TO CLOUD.

( LAUGHTER ) >> James: YOU'RE CURRENTLY IN

NEW YORK CITY AND I KNOW BROADWAY IS A BIG PART OF YOUR

LIFE.

TELL ME, BECAUSE I HAVEN'T BEEN IN PROBABLY A YEAR NOW TO

NEW YORK.

LIKE, HOW IS IT -- HOW SURREAL IS IT SEEING THAT KIND OF

STRETCH OF EIGHT OR TEN BLOCKS OF BROADWAY CLOSED WITHOUT

ACTIVITY?

WHAT'S IT LIKE WHEN YOU WALK AROUND THE AREA?

>> IT'S VERY SAD BECAUSE, YOU KNOW -- AND I FEEL IT'S SORT

OF -- YOU KNOW, THAT OBVIOUSLY IS SUCH A HUGE PART OF MY LIFE.

SO TO HAVE THAT ALL GONE, IT FEELS LIKE JUST SOMETHING VERY

LARGE IS MISSING HERE.

AND NEW YORK, YOU KNOW, I'M HAPPY TO SAY, YOU KNOW, IT FEELS

LIKE IT'S SORT OF STARTING TO FUNCTION AGAIN IN A GOOD WAY,

BUT THAT PARTICULAR PART OF IT IS REALLY, UM, THERE'S A HOLE.

THERE'S A HOLE IN THE CITY THAT IT'S JUST NOT -- IT CAN'T BE

REPLACED AND, YEAH, THAT'S HARD.

>> James: AND EVERY SINGLE BROADWAY PERFORMING, MUSICIAN,

CREW, STAGEHAND, BOX OFFICE WORKER, YOU KNOW, WE'RE THINKING

ABOUT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM, WE REALLY, REALLY ARE.

IT'S WORRYING, BUT WE HOPE SO MUCH THAT IT WILL, YOU KNOW,

THAT IT WILL FIND A WAY THROUGH THIS AS SO MANY OTHER THINGS

ARE.

AND LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS, THIS IS VERY EXCITING TO ME.

YOU'VE JUST FINISHED WORKING ON YOUR DIRECTORIAL DEBUT.

I'M REALLY EXCITED FOR YOU.

HOW NERVOUS WERE YOU GOING INTO IT?

I THINK YOU JUST WRAPPED.

HOW DID IT GO?

>> IT WAS TERRIFYING.

I WAS ASKED TO ADAPT AN ESSAY I WROTE FOR MODERN LOVE IN THE

"NEW YORK TIMES."

I WAS ASKED TO ADAPT THAT FOR THE SECOND SEASON, AND THEN JOHN

CARNEY, THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER WAS, LIKE, WELL, MAYBE WOULD YOU

WANT TO DIRECT IT BECAUSE IT'S YOUR STORY AND YOU'RE WRITING

IT?

SO I WAS TERRIFIED, ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED, BUT I HAD MANY

CONVERSATIONS WITH RYAN MURPHY AND JOE MANTELLO WHO DIRECTED

"THE BOYS IN THE BAND" AND THEY JUST SORT OF TALKED ME THROUGH

IT IN A GREAT WAY AND WERE VERY ENCOURAGING, AND, UM -- SO I

TRIED -- WELL, SEE -- WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS, BUT I FEEL LIKE IT

WENT WELL, JAMES.

I FEEL LIKE IT WENT WELL.

>> James: WE HAVE A PHOTO OF YOU HERE IN ACTION, AND YOU LOOK

LIKE A DIRECTOR HERE.

IT'S A VERY -- IT'S A VERY DIRECTOR'S CHOICE OF JACKET.

>> YES.

NO, I BOUGHT THAT JACKET -- SO MY FRIEND SUSANNAH --

>> James: DID YOU BUY THE JACKET TO LOOK LIKE A DIRECTOR?

>> YES.

>> James: WOW.

YES, I DID.

( LAUGHTER ) IT CAME FROM A PLACE CALLED

PHILSON.

IT FELT LIKE A VERY DIRECTOR JACKET.

SO IF NOTHING ELSE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I'M AN ACTOR SORT OF

FIRST, I WAS, LIKE, IF NOTHING ELSE, I'LL LOOK THE PART.

>> James: YEAH.

I MIGHT FAIL, BUT I'LL TRY THAT.

>> James: I DON'T THINK YOU WILL.

I'M VERY EXCITED TO SEE IT.

I CAN'T WAIT.

I REALLY, REALLY CAN'T.

NOW, WE HAVE TO CONGRATULATE YOU ON YOUR BRILLIANT PERFORMANCE IN

"THE BOYS IN THE BAND."

TELL THEM ABOUT THIS PROJECT AND WHO YOU PLAY.

>> "THE BOYS IN THE BAND" IS A FABULOUS PLAY IN 1968, MARK

CROWLEY WROTE IT, WE GOT TO REVIVE IT IN BROADWAY IN 2018, A

LOT OF DATES, BUT THE POINT IS IT'S ABOUT NINE GAY MEN SORT OF

TRAPPED IN AN APARTMENT AT A BIRTHDAY PARTY IN 1968, IN ONE

APARTMENT, THAT, YOU KNOW, WITH ENOUGH BOOS AND ENOUGH EMOTION

THAT THE WHEELS SORT OF START TO COME OFF, AND IT'S JUST -- I

LOVE BEING A PART OF IT.

IT WAS SUCH A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE GETTING TO DO IT ON BROADWAY AND

THEN, YOU KNOW, WITH THE EXACT SAME CAST COMING BACK AND DOING

IT AS A FILM WAS REALLY INCREDIBLE.

AND IT WILL BE ON, YOU KNOW, NETFLIX ON THE 30th, AND WE'RE

SO EXCITED TO FINALLY GET TO SHARE IT WITH PEOPLE.

IT'S BEEN A VERY LONG JOURNEY WITH THE SHOW.

SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED FOR PEOPLE TO SEE THIS VERSION.

>> James: I'M INCREDIBLY EXCITED TO WATCH IT.

I'M A REAL FAN OF THE ORIGINAL.

I DON'T EVEN KNOW, I THINK THERE'S A GENERATION OF YOUNG

PEOPLE THAT DON'T SORT OF UNDERSTAND THAT IN 1968 YOU

COULD BE ARRESTED FOR BEING GAY.

>> YES.

>> James: AS AN OUT GAY MAN, HOW DO YOU PROCESS THAT, WHEN

YOU'RE GOING INTO A PROJECT LIKE THIS?

>> WELL, I THINK THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE GOT TO EXPLORE

IN A VERY DIFFERENT WAY ON THE FILM THAN WE DID WHEN WE WERE

DOING THE BROADWAY VERSION THAT THERE WAS THIS SORT OF

OVERARCHING FEELING OF CONCERN AND OF DANGER THAT, IF SOMEONE

HAD CALLED THE POLICE AND SAID THERE'S, YOU KNOW, A PARTY OF A

BUNCH OF GAY MEN HAPPENING RIGHT NOW, ALL OF THEM COULD HAVE BEEN

ARRESTED, THEIR NAMES WOULD HAVE BEEN PUT IN THE NEWSPAPER, THEIR

LIVES WOULD HAVE BEEN DISRUPTED, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT I SORT

OF TOOK -- I DIDN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND THAT.

AND THEN, LIKE, I DIDN'T -- BECAUSE WHEN I CAME OUT IN THE

'90s, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THAT WAS NOT A CONCERN.

AND PUTTING YOURSELF -- AND REALLY BEING ABLE TO PUT

YOURSELF IN THAT PLACE AND SAYT THAT JUST BEING YOURSELF WAS NOT

OKAY WAS SOMETHING THAT I THINK WE ALL HAD TO -- HAD TO REMIND

OURSELVES OF WHEN WE WERE DOING THE FILM, YOU KNOW, TO SAY, YES,

THERE'S VERY COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIPS HAPPENING IN THIS

ROOM, BUT, ALSO, ON TOP OF THAT, THERE'S A LOT ELSE HAPPENING

JUST POLITICALLY AND SOCIALLY.

SO JOE MANTELLO, OUR BRILLIANT DIRECTOR, ALLOWED US TO SORT OF

EXPLORE THAT PART OF IT AS WELL.

BUT IT'S ALSO, LIKE -- IT'S VERY FUNNY.

IT'S A FUNNY MOVIE.

THERE'S A LOT OF LOVE IN IT, BUT IT IS SORT OF A DARK STORY OF

THESE FRIENDS SORT OF, YOU KNOW, REALLY TRUTH TELLING.

BUT I THINK THAT WHAT -- AGAIN, WHAT WE GOT TO EXPLORE MAYBE IN

THE FILM THAN WE DID ON BROADWAY WAS THERE'S A REASON THEY'RE ALL

IN THE ROOM TOGETHER AND IT'S BECAUSE THEY LOVE EACH OTHER AND

IT'S BECAUSE THEY'RE FRIENDS AND IT'S ABOUT CHOSEN FAMILY AND

ABOUT THESE GUYS WHO REALLY DO CARE AND WANT TO PROTECT EACH

OTHER.

SO AS A CAST, WE ALL KNEW EACH OTHER SO WELL.

YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU DO A SHOW ON BROADWAY OR WHEREVER, THAT'S

YOUR FAMILY, RIGHT, LIKE THAT'S YOUR FAMILY FOR A BIT.

SO WE ALL BECAME VERY CLOSE, SO IT WAS REALLY FUN TO GET TO

REUNITE AND TELL THIS STORY ON FILM.

>> James: WELL, I'M REALLY, REALLY EXCITED TO SEE.

I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE A HUGE SUCCESS.