Tom Llamas 'excited' and ready to put his stamp on 'Nightly News' as he takes over

Tom Llamas said he’s "excited" to take the helm of "Nightly News" and will live by his tenets of being "tough but fair" while reporting "without fear or favor."

Tom Llamas said he’s "excited" to take the helm of "Nightly News" and will live by his tenets of being "tough but fair" while reporting "without fear or favor."

Llamas succeeds Lester Holt as anchor and managing editor of “Nightly News” in a historic move making him the first weekday Latino evening news anchor of an English-language show.

"I'm a little nervous, but I'm looking forward to the challenge," Llamas told "TODAY" anchor Savannah Guthrie in a sit-down interview.

His new role is the peak of his decadeslong career in journalism, that started when he was just 15.

"Never, ever in my wildest dreams, did I think I could get to that point ... You get a new opportunity, a new challenge, and you get to a point where you think, ‘Wow, maybe that could be me,’” Llamas reflected. "You just kind of keep running your race, and that’s what I’ve been doing. It’s like everybody dreams of this happening to them."