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As soon as the show ends, Harry and I retreat to his dressing room. Outfitted in all-black athleisure wear for his aerial-hooping (a wardrobe change from the grey suit jacket and cobalt blue button-up he opened the show in), the award- winning entertainer seems a little less intimidating dressed casually. At least that's what I tell myself as I awkwardly try to mirror the way he is sitting so we're facing one another on the couch. (I'm in a dress and can't bend my leg toward the back of the couch as easily.) I noticed that when I told family and friends that I'd be interviewing Harry, they each recognized him for something different: my father thinks of him as the renowned crooner; one of my girlfriends loves him for his Christmas music; another friend associates him with her favorite film, P.S. I Love You; and I know him best as Leo, Grace's husband on Will & Grace. Regardless of what arena you know his work best, whether it be theater, film, TV or music, when you hear the name Harry Connick Jr., you immediately think of two words: extraordinarily talented. Now, as a man with his own show, airing five days a week, he has a platform that showcases and utilizes his grand scope of talent. He jams with fellow stars, playfully competes with guests, tries new things (his Harry Tries segment), highlights inspiring women (his Leading Ladies segment), samples exotic fare, backs it up… Here, viewers get to know the man behind the Blockbuster films and Billboard hits —they get to see Harry's compassionate-silly-self- deprecating side. And who knew he had the greatest sense of humor? He is a jokester, who is constantly making faces and doing silly voices. And because of all this, we're falling even more in love with him. Only seven months in, and the show has already been renewed for a second season and brought Harry his first Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Talk Show Host. HARRY picked up four Emmy nominations, too. So, how did the multi-hyphenate end up at the helm of a daytime talk show? "I wasn't really interested in doing a talk show per se, but I wanted to do a show that combines all of the things I like –talking to people is one of those things. But I just felt like this might be a fun time to have my band play music [this is the same band he's been touring with for years], perform, and have people on the show that are inspiring people. As an entertainer, I think that's one of the things that I'm so lucky to try to do, is to try to help people. Try to brighten their day a little bit. So, it was a lot of reasons that sort of led me to it," says Harry, who drives in from his home in Connecticut to film the nationally syndicated, Manhattan-based talk show. HARRY has been going strong since its premiere last September, which was kicked off with Harry's Hope Floats costar Sandra Bullock. I tell Harry I'm a fan of Sandra's and he assures me that she's exactly what I'd hope. "She's great. Very smart. Super down-to-earth. I mean, if you consider who she is and what that lifestyle is, meaning, y'know, in the public eye, one of the biggest movie stars in the world. I mean, she's an everyday girl. She's like you. She's a normal, nice — it's just a nice thing to see 'cause I think you would like that people you admire to be like that, and that's what she's like." Even though he considers them "really good friends," he seemed a little surprised, yet entirely gracious, that she made the effort to appear on his show. (Sandra is the only guest Harry has personally called up to invite onto the show. He prefers to leave the guest lineup to the show's bookers since it's a slippery slope.) "It's a big commitment for somebody like her to say, 'Yes, I will come to New York' 'cause for her to move around is complicated — there's a lot of people involved, so, I'll never forget that." What stands out to me most in this musing is Harry's unassuming modesty. I concur that Sandra is one of the biggest movie stars in the world, but he is Harry Connick Jr. –an intimidatingly-accomplished man with three Grammys, two