Actor and TV personality Terrence Jenkins recently joined the E! Entertainment family as a co-anchor of the channel’s E! News show.

We caught up with Terrence from his LA home to find out about the gig of a lifetime.

DStvO: You recently joined the lovely Giuliana Rancic as the co-anchor on E! News. How is that going?
Terrence: It’s amazing. It’s such a wonderful place to work and it’s very exciting. Working with Giuliana is great too. She’s such a great person to be around and she’s in such a great place in her life with her baby and all the exciting things in her career. She’s also been a great mentor. She’s been at E! for over ten years, so she knows how it’s done and that has helped me a lot. I’m really enjoying it.

DStvO: You had some big shoes to fill when you took over from Ryan Seacrest. Did you feel any pressure when you took over from him?
Terrence: Ryan and I are two completely different people and that’s a good thing. There haven’t been many comparisons, so I’m able to bring my own personality to the show.

That said, Ryan is also very much involved in the show and he too is a mentor to me. He’s there every week and he’s there for me if I need some help. I have the best of both worlds.

DStvO: You’ve done some really high profile interviews in your short time with E! News including the likes of Khloé Kardashian and Chris Brown. You must love this aspect of the job.
Terrence: It has been a lot of fun; I’ve been assigned to some really great assignments. I just recently sat down with Brad Pitt and Simon Cowell - international story makers - and it’s a lot of fun. I’m able to be there on the pulse of pop culture and that’s what I love about the job.

DStvO: Who else is on your list of A-listers to interview?
Terrence: I’m ready to get on a plane to Africa to interview you. When can we make it happen?
DStvO: (Laughs) We’ll send the limo.

DStvO: Awards season is upon us. How is that going for you?
Terrence: It’s crazy. My schedule has been manic over the last couple of weeks, but I love it. I’m really excited about attending my first Oscars. I’m making sure I’ve done all of my research.

The nice thing is that I get to see a lot of the movies ahead of time and I’m really excited about seeing who takes home all the awards. It’s tough to say who will win, but I’m looking forward to seeing all of the fashion because people love to go all-out.

DStvO: Do you think you’ll be a guest star on Fashion Police?
Terrence: You know what, I might just have to stop by (laughs).

What gets you up in the morning?
I don’t come from much. So I always think about where I came from and the journey that I’ve had. I know that I’m in a fortunate position and that there’s a young version of me that’s out there, working hard to be in my position one day.

I just wake up every day and I think about him or her and I stay motivated to do the best job I can do and be an inspiration to them.

Catch Terrence J and Giuliana on E! News, weekdays on E! Entertainment