Charlie Cooper and Sky Lakota Lynch

In her novel The outsidersSE Hinton introduces 16-year-old Johnny Cade as a “little, dark puppy who has been kicked too many times and lost in a crowd of strangers.”

When he first arrived in New York City, Sky Lakota-Lynch could identify with that lost, helpless feeling. “When I first came to Broadway, I didn’t really know how to navigate the industry,” he further told Charlie Cooper The Broadway Show. “I felt like a bit of an outsider and I had to earn my own pocket in the industry a bit.”

Lakota-Lynch went on to earn a Tony nomination for his portrayal of Johnny in The outsiders on Broadway. While walking with Cooper to the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater, Lakota-Lynch opened up about fully bringing out the role, dirt on stage, Tony night and more.

Watch the full segment below.