Shirt, Seacrest’s own. Jeans by J.Crew ($96). J.Crew, The Grove, 189 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles, 323-939-1070. Royal Oak watch in stainless steel by Audemars Piguet ($12,400). Available at Westime, 254 North Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, 310-271-0000.

RYAN SEACREST’s day “starts in the dark and usually ends in the dark.” Insert whatever punch line you see fit here, but it’s no joke that the 34- year-old is currently one of the hardest-working men in Hollywood.

Seacrest has ruled Los Angeles radio for more than a decade, but it wasn’t until 2002 that the Atlanta native became a household name. A little reality show on Fox—American Idol, you may have heard of it—took Kelly Clarkson from cocktail waitress to recording star and turned host Seacrest as well as judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Paula Abdul into pop-culture icons. Since then Seacrest’s career has only gained momentum. Today, along with his Idol duties, he’s the cohost of E! News. His KIIS-FM radio show On Air with Ryan Seacrest has gone into syndication, while the American Top 40 countdown he inherited from radio legend Casey Kasem can be heard on more than 600 stations.

He also started his own eponymous production company that currently has 15 series, including Denise Richards: It’s Complicated and Keeping Up with the Kardashians, either on the air or in production. And he’s the ruler of the red carpet at everything from the Oscars to the Emmys (let’s talk about who you’re wearing), and cameos everywhere from E!’s The Soup (let’s talk about chicks, man) to commercials and films. And just to make the rest of the West Coast feel like complete slackers, Seacrest co-owns several local hot spots, among them Boa, Sushi Roku, and Katana.

In between Idol tour stops in Miami and Louisville, Seacrest slows down just long enough to talk about how much he loves his crazy schedule, his new Bromance, and well, chicks, man.

	Dress shirt by Yves Saint Laurent ($425). Yves Saint Laurent, 326 North Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, 310-371- 4110. Jacket by Paul Smith (price on request). Paul Smith, 8221 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, 323-9515-4800. Carrera automatic watch by Tag Heuer ($1,900). Available at Westime, 254 North Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, 310-271-0000.

LOS ANGELES CONFIDENTIAL: What’s your schedule like?
RYAN SEACREST: I’ve eaten standing up or on the move for the last five years of my life, but I like it that way. It’s different each and every day, but it always starts in the dark, usually ends in the dark, and it’s a sprint to get to everything in between. The alarm goes off at four o’clock in the morning Monday through Friday, and if I’m not close to being under my duvet by seven at night, I start to get anxiety.

LAC: How’s the next season of American Idol going?
RS: We’ve been to two cities so far and seen the big crowds, but we haven’t seen all the singers yet. But we only need one good person for the show to work, so I have a feeling we’ll be OK.

LAC: How did you go from being one of two American Idol hosts to the host of, well, everything?
RS: The first meeting with [American Idol executive producers] Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick was to discuss being a judge. And Simon… I think unofficially he’d pretty much made up his mind he didn’t want anyone younger on the panel, so I was out as a judge, but I did end up hosting. When I started to host American Idol, it opened a lot of doors. I really just took that momentum and actually worked harder when I was working more—that was the mindset that I used, not to slow down once things were happening but to actually speed up.

LAC: Are we ever going to see any acting credits for you that are not “Ryan Seacrest as himself”?
RS: I’m not a thespian. I’m not great with scripts and with playing the parts of others; it’s nothing I’ve ever really studied. I guess my profound roles in an AT&T commercial, Scope ad, and Knocked Up are pretty much the extent of my acting jobs.

LAC: Tell me about the new show you’re producing, Bromance.
RS: It’s kind of a tongue-in-cheek relationship show. We’ve taken a bunch of guys from around the country and put them up in a fratlike environment to compete to be part of Brody Jenner’s entourage.

LAC: What other projects does Ryan Seacrest Productions have in the works?
RS: We just wrapped a series for NBC called Momma’s Boys. The premise is these guys who are so close to their mothers that the moms make a lot of the decisions in their lives. All the girls that these guys date have to be approved and filtered through mom first. It creates an interesting dynamic when you’ve got a bunch of girls living with the mothers of the guys, not actually the guys.

LAC: Is any of this biographical?
RS: [Laughs] Yes. Good point—the impetus for many of these shows is personal. I’ve always advocated being honest and up-front and comfortable and confident about who you are as a guy. I think it’s OK for a guy to wake up and want to head over to Beverly Hills and get some new shoes because he has a date on Saturday night. Stereotypically I don’t know where that falls, but looking good, staying fit, taking care of yourself, and having that self-confidence is part of how I was raised. And I think it’s OK for a guy to advocate his respect for his buddy—there’s no greater bond than that of a guy and his best friend. Usually that stands the test of time—girls will come, they will go, but that college roommate, that “bromance,” will last a long time.

LAC: And your mother said she does need to sign off on the future Mrs. Seacrest.
RS: Yes, my mother tends to enjoy the opportunity to talk about my personal life without filter. I’m very, very close to my mother. She’s an inspiration and a massive influence. So she said something along the lines of “what woman would want to get up at four in the morning next to my son every single day of her life?” And I’m thinking, Well, mom, thank you, now that I don’t have a chance... you just sealed the deal with an exclamation point.

LAC: Has anyone been paraded in front of mom recently?
RS: Not paraded, no. We’re doing subtle strolls right now.

LAC: The tabloids currently have you linked to Sophie Monk—has she met Mom?
RS: Sophie is a very good friend and she’s wonderful, but my mom has not yet had a chance to spend time with Sophie.

LAC: I’d be surprised if you had time to spend with Sophie. Do you ever get vacation time?
RS: Yeah, I take a couple weeks off a year. But this is everything I wished for, it’s everything I wanted. I would never say that I want less of it.

LAC: You’ve taken over Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 and are doing New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Dick Clark—whose career are you going after next?
RS: I’m not going after anyone! All these guys—Larry King has been a really good friend and someone I’ve looked up to, he’s come into my life and helped me understand broadcasting better. Dick has been amazing and taken me under his wing. Merv Griffin was a dear friend of mine; Regis I love…. All these guys I grew up [with]; fortunately I’ve become friends with most of them, and I’ve worked with some of them.

LAC: In a post-Stern/Imus climate, are you ever worried about what you can say on the air?
RS: No, our programs are not designed to be the most provocative. These are mainstream, popular- culture programs that hopefully appeal to a broader audience. It’s never part of my agenda to push the envelope. That’s not my style and that’s not what I’m good at.

LAC:How do you keep up the energy level?
RS: It’s not tough work! I mean c’mon, I’m on the radio talking about what was on TV last night and interviewing a couple of celebrities; I’m on American Idol giving out phone numbers; and I’m on E! talking about who’s dating who—it’s not the most difficult work in the world. ★

BY JILL SIERACKI
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ERIC CAHAN
Shot on location at the Peninsula Hotel New York