Tim Walz and Anthony Ramos Talk High School Theater Programs and How ‘Hamilton’ Helped Drive Voter Registration (EXCLUSIVE)

Governor Tim Walz and Emmy-nominee Anthony Ramos are bonding over the politician’s career in education and the Emmy-nominee’s own high school experience.

In an exclusive first look at a video provided to Variety by the Harris-Walz campaign, Walz and Ramos are shown talking backstage during a recent campaign stop in Pennsylvania. Ramos recalled a teacher in his theater program who helped and inspired him.

“That was a turning point in my life,” Ramos said. “She helped me with the audition material, she paid the $50 for the application and she sat with me and wrote the essays because I wanted to quit.”

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The “In The Heights” star said he didn’t grow up enjoying musicals or even watching musicals. He calls his involvement in theater an accident and said it simply came about because of the level of encouragement he received from his teacher.

Ramos shared how his teacher constantly uplifted him and recommended him to others, even in spite of his less than stellar grades. He emphasized the power of teachers genuinely caring about students and affirming their futures.

Walz asked the actor what he thought about his time in “Hamilton” and how the show helped increase voter registration.

“Voting was not a thing I cared about at all,” Ramos admitted. “But we’re singing about revolution…You think about those words. ‘I am not throwing away my shot’ — what is that shot?”

The “Twisters” star added that the reason he found himself less invested in politics in the past was he felt like his own voice didn’t matter.

“I’m sure a lot of people say this, ‘Look I’m just not that into politics,’ and I respond, ‘Too bad. Politics is into you’…It’s the future we’re gonna lead together. It does matter,” Walz said. “Kamala Harris always says. ‘Look, a mark of leadership is not who you push down, it’s who you lift up. It’s about making people feel heard.'”

Watch the full video of Walz and Ramos above.