'Atlanta' star Brian Tyree Henry explains why he's voting for Hillary Clinton: 'I'm conscious, I have a soul'

Guy D'Alema/FX

"Atlanta" star Brian Tyree Henry is serious about this year's presidential election.

"I’ve never been more excited about an election in my life," Henry told Business Insider on Monday. "The world will no longer stay complacent, where there is a blindfold on people’s eyes over who’s for you and who’s not."

For those who watched "Atlanta," the FX comedy created by and starring Donald Glover, Henry's excitement is very different from the easygoing rapper he plays on the show, Alfred Miles, aka Paper Boi. But Henry believes there's too much at stake to not act.

"No matter who gets elected, the world is going to change," the 34-year-old actor said. "I really need people to exercise their right to vote, because it seems like we’re in a place and time where we’re desensitized, feeling disenfranchised. All the deluge of news we’re getting, all the misinformation that we’re getting, all the 'he said, she said.' At the end of the day, everything you feel means nothing if you don’t get out and vote. You don’t get to complain, you don’t get to ‘rah, rah, rah,’ you don’t get to rally, you don’t get to march, you don’t get to do anything if you don’t exercise your right to vote, especially if you’re a person of color."

Henry said he feels the responsibility to honor those who fought for not just the right of black Americans to vote, but also against the barriers to voting often imposed on that group.

"Our tradition is being told ‘no,’ being told that we can’t, being told that we shouldn't, and being told we’re not enough," Henry said. "If you are conscious and really want change in this world and you don’t vote, then what was all the fighting for? All the things our parents and our parents’ parents fought for?"

The Yale School of Drama graduate wasn't shy about who he's casting his vote for in the 2016 presidential election.

Guy D'Alema/FX"Clearly, I’m voting for Hillary," he said. "There’s no shame about that. There’s no nervousness about that. I’m conscious. I have a soul. I’m a black man in this world. This election has been crazy, but at the end of the day I’m with her."

And as for his laid-back "Atlanta" character, Henry said that his music took off during the first season because Earn (Glover) believed in him. 

"Sometimes, you need someone to believe in you when you don't believe in yourself," Henry said.

So when we asked if there could be an election-themed episode of "Atlanta" when it returns for its second season next year, the actor aimed for the sky.

"I hope Paper Boi runs for president," he answered with a laugh. "I hope he does. Governor, mayor, senator, I hope he does it all. You better believe it."

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