this is "nightline." >> tonight, short kings. >> this was the biggest rush ever. >> inside the lives of those who will do anything to get tall. anything from just wanting to get by. >> sometimes i want to reach stuff in the aisles of a walmart. you just can't. >> so, wanting a leg up. >> i had to earn my respect.

people are tall, they don't have to earn the respect. >> the lengths they go to, and at what cost. >> you guys are breaking the bone. of thrones" fan knows. his journey from saving king's landing to saving the planet. >> i believe in the human spirit. i refuse to believe that. >> jim >> why he is taking a different approach to the doom and gloom of environmentalism. >> we have a beautiful home. we're lucky. >> and what he says was most special about "game of thrones." "nightline" will be right back. - ugh. - cabin crew cross check. that yellow's not gonna fly. - buckle up! - whoa! ♪ reality checkup ♪ there's toothpaste white, and there's crest 3dwhitestrips white. whitens like a $400 professional treatment. [pilot] prepare for non-stop smiles. crest. can neuriva support your brain health?

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♪ good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight, we take you inside a world few have seen. money can buy you a lot of things but can it now buy you height, as well? now, a look at the length some men will go to give them what nature did not. ♪ >> let's go.

>> this is crazy, man. >> reporter: it's morning on the high seas and the party is in full swing. whether it's a day on a yacht. or an afternoon stroll on the designer strip, shelling out major cash for the high life. wherever they are and whatever they're buying, there's no doubt that these two are living in the lap of luxury. yo. life sure is good, if you're hugo ramirez. a texas businessman, turned miami socialite. and his wife, a former model and a fluffy dog mom. >> this is our baby. her name is barbie. she loves the cameras. >> do you like her dress? very spoiled. >> reporter: the lifestyle, flashy. the cars, the clothes, the vibe, larger than life. >> hey. how are you? >> reporter: as far as hugo is concerned. >> how are you feeling? >> great. >> reporter: let's not beat around the bush and state the

obvious. there's some work that's been done here. and he freely admits it. what kind of procedures are you willing to talk about? >> i just did my face. >> reporter: just your face? >> did my face. >> reporter: what did you do? >> i had a jaw implant. a chin implant. and i had them tighten my neck. that's the biggest rush. >> reporter: is that what you get? >> the biggest rush ever. >> reporter: hugo says it's part of his quest to look young and glamor glamorous. amidst the implants, the nips and the tux, thcks, another secret sauce to success, something he says has given him a leg up in the business world, in his personal life, in everything. how tall were you? >> 5'9". >> reporter: that's an average height for an american male. >> i'm not average. i don't like to be average. >> he said, babe, i want to be taller. >> reporter: i want to be taller. money can buy you a lot of things. but surely, money can't make you

taller, right? you went from how tall to how tall? >> i went from 5'9". with or without shoes. without shoes, i'm 5'11". with shoes, i'm 6'1". >> reporter: 6'1". >> reporter: that's right. hugo grew nearly three inches. how did he do it? >> here's our >> reporter: leg lengthening surgery. for $70,000 or more, a doctor can surgically make you taller. >> when you describe handsome guy. tall, dark and handsome. >> it's harder for shorter men. i say that with certainty. >> reporter: the whole thing isn't as crazy as it sounds. doctors have been doing it for decades. >> just have a seat here. >> reporter: this doctor, known as dr. d., as done hundreds of them. that's like the animal kingdom.

>> they have a primal instingct of being more powerful. that translates to humans, as well. >> reporter: we get to how it all works, later. first, meet jerry. >> my name is jerry. i'm a nurse from mobile, alabama. i think height is an extremely important thing. when it comes to just life in general. that many people overlook. today, i measured in at 5'5" on the dot. >> reporter: jerry and hugo live very different lives. but they're on a similar journey. both with dr. d., looking to see the world, from new heights. did you always feel like 5'9" was short growing up. >> yeah. >> reporter: what was it about being taller? >> the respect. you can be an idiot and be tall and get the respect. >> sometimes i want to reach stuff in the aisles of a walmart. you just can't because you're short and you got to get on your tippy toes.

and sometimes it's embarrassing. if you're given an opportunity to change something about your life and you know it will help you with your attitude and how you feel about things and the way that you carry yourself, i think most people would take it. and i took it. >> i think leg lengthening is extremely controversial. as physicians we're asking questions such as, what are the risks and what are the benefits? and this type of procedure, we can see the benefit is helping the patient get taller. but the risks seem immense. >> reporter: but in order to fully get it, let's take a ride over to the de facto leg lengthening capital, vegas, baby. ♪ we're in vegas, where the whole world comes to get lucky, get rich, or get lost. how about get taller? we're bringing you behind the scenes of the newest cosmetic surgery that's bringing the whole world to its knees. >> kind of like that.

we'll get the better position around there. >> reporter: away from the wri bright lights and the frenetic chaos in the vegas strip, you find a different frenzy happening. you find a man who, if you're born a certain height, might be able to change your life. his medical degree -- but to his patients, he's dr. d. he's one of the best limb-lengthening surgeons in the country. he can make you taller. you're broking the bone? >> it's a surgical break. the bone barely moves. it's like a paper towel. we tap it and it separates from that area. the rod goes down and transfixes that. this is where we break the bone. this is a small incision. a fairly kcosmetic result overall. >> reporter: the rod or nail, as they call it, expands as the

bone grows around it. >> the nail responds from the control and that lengthens the bone apart. that break constantly tries to heal itself. and you continue that over two months, 2 1/2 months, depending how much length the patient is hoping to gain. and hopefully this full pop will consoli consolidate. >> reporter: it's a lengthy process and unbelievably expensive. how much does a procedure like this cost? >> the procedure itself is not inexpensive. it probably starts around $72,000. >> reporter: as you might predict, the reaction when people hear about what goes into this surgery has been swift. >> this is thene most thing i've seen for a long time. i can't believe people are doing this. it looks intense for ten centimeters in your height. >> there's many risks to leg lengthening surgeries. damage to us in muscles, to ligaml

ligaments and tendons. all of the risks need to be taken into account, when the patient is making the decision on whether or not they want to do something like this. >> reporter: it's also been lampooned by comedians like kevin hart. >> they are giving out height. go get you some. [ laughter ] what do you mean they giving out height? they giving out height. they taking the fat out people's backs and putting it in their knees. >> i was in the audience when kevin hart was doing that. he was here in las vegas. i got invited to sit in on that. >> reporter: was that frustrating to hear? or any press is good press? >> i thought it was funny, i guess. we don't use fat. obviously, we use your natural bone that you have. >> reporter: back in the o.r. -- >> all right. here we go. why don't we go ahead and get ready. perfectly still right there. hold it up higher. okay.

x-ray. ♪ >> nice. >> all right. now, we're done. we have the nail implanted. we'll do some irrigation. >> all right. all done with jerry's case. he's going to be heading back over to recovery now for about an hour's time. then, we're going to get him up to the ward. in three or four hours, we'll get him walking with his walker and he will start his journey with leg lengthening. >> reporter: months later, jerry is on his road to recovery.

watch the full episode of "impact: short kings, the business of getting tall." when we come back, one-on-one with former "game of thrones" star, nikolaj costar-waldau and his much larger kingdom. can still come h. you see, i was diagnosed with obstructive hcm. and there were some days i was so short of breath. i thought i'd have to settle for never stepping foot on this trail again. i became great at making excuses. but i have people who count on me so i talked to my cardiologist. i said there must be more we can do for my symptoms. he told me about a medication called camzyos. he said camzyos works by targeting what's causing my obstructive hcm. so he prescribed it and i'm really glad he did. camzyos is used to treat adults with symptomatic obstructive hcm. camzyos may improve your symptoms and your ability to be active. camzyos may cause serious side effects,

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with democrat katie porter. i'm katie porter and i approve this message. ♪ welcome back. our guest tonight has starred in one of the most watched tv series of all-times. actor nikolaj costar-waldau, whose role

garnered him two primetime emmy nominations. welcome to "nightline." >> thank you. >> byron: we're honored to have you. before we talk about this dynamic series, we want to talk about a project you did that finished up five years ago. >> uh-huh. >> byron: for fans of "game of thrones" what do you miss most about play iing jamie >> we had colleagues in front of and behind the camera. i miss that. the character was a fantastic character. >> byron: in your business, can you recapture that kind of thing? that was an incredibly popular show. >> no. and i don't think you should try to. we always try. you think this is going to be the greatest thing ever. that magic sauce, whatever it is. i -- every time i do something, i feel that is what i love the

most. >> byron: i want to about your new tv series, "an optimist's guide to the planet." let's look at a clip. >> one single can bring it down. >> there's something about this so powerful and it feels so right. the wallabies. >> most of them are pregnant. >> i have to pinch myself. >> one of >> byron: it's beautiful. it's breathtakingly beautiful, the places you take us. >> that's our planet. we have a beautiful home and we're lucky. i think we wanted this to be a global show because these challenges we face are global. we share them. i also wanted it to be a show that focused on people. people all over the world, from all ethnicities and all backgrounds, that have something

unique. they have a solution. they have an idea. we all want to spend time listening to. and be inspired by. for some reason, in this country, it is still sometimes a divisive issue. climate change, is it real or not? i think that's a local american discussion. everywhere we travel around the world -- it wasn't a discussion, yes. climate change is happening. >> byron: one of the things i appreciate about this series, there is an optimistic spirit. we talk about climate change. >> we're good of telling the story what will happen if we don't act, when it comes to climate change. but we forget to tell the story of actually a lot of things are happening. and it's happening all over the world. and it's incredibly inspiring. >> byron: you spent time at a new york school today. why? and tell me about it. >> because, in a few years, they will be the ones that hopefully come up with the solutions, the

better solutions. i wanted to know how they felt about it. are they as pessimisting as iic numbers would indicate. there's one that would raise his hand and say, i got to be honest, i didn't want to be here. i had to pick up points. and i didn't care about this climate. i thought easy. i got to say, being part of this, has really inspired me, opened my eyes. there's something about that. sometimes whatever task we have can feel overwhelming. once you start, you take one step forward and another step. and things become easier. >> byron: something that's clear about your life work, is certainly you're someone that knows the power of inspiring people. you're the fire, not only from the soldiers you play in movies. you're a goodwill ambassador to the united nations. you take on gender inequality and climate change. why? >> to me, it's also, my brother who passed away last year. she always said, just use common

sense. and sometimes it's that simple. i'm going, gender equality. it's a no-brainer. half the population on this planet are women. why would you want to exclude them? first of all, it's human rights, it's not fair. also, we need everybody. >> byron: i've known you now all of 15 minutes. but you strike me as an optimistic and kind spirit. have you always been that way? where does that come from? >> i mentioned my brother. mother. it's from there. i'm excited about the possibility. what made me really happy, i have two daughters. my youngest was 4, 3. having breakfast one day. and she was like, dad, i can't wait to find out what -- i can't wait to see what they come up with in the future. i thought that was such a nice thing. i believe in the human spirit. i refuse to believe that we're that stupid. that we would mess it up.

>> byron: amen. thank you so much. grateful to have you on the show. wish you continued grace to your family and career. you can watch "an optimist's guide to the planet" on all bloomberg platforms. when we come back, "real housewives" star, erica jane fine ly sits down with those wh said they were victims of the alleged fraud schemes. the housewife and the hustler, 2. the risk of hiv without daily prep pills. with one shot every other month, just 6 times a year. in studies, apretude was proven superior to a daily prep pill in reducing the risk of hiv. you must be hiv negative to receive apretude and get tested before each injection. if you think you were exposed to hiv or have flu-like symptoms, tell your doctor right away. apretude does not prevent other sexually transmitted infections. practice safer sex to reduce your risk. don't take apretude

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a doctor or an engineer. those are good careers! but i chose a different path. first, as mayor and then in the legislature. i enshrined abortion rights in our california constitution. in the face of trump, i strengthened hate crime laws and lowered the costs for the middle class. now i'm running to bring the fight to congress. you were always stubborn. and on that note, i'm evan low, and i approve this message.

♪ finally tonight, a first look at a much-anticipated follow

follow-up. >> erika jayne. >> tom girardi. >> this story was a nuclear explosion. >> today, we'll get a chance to finally meet erika girardi. >> did you see the documentary? >> "the housewife and the hustler"? i did. >> he started crashing and burning. >> and the judge says, where is the money? >> why are you beating up this woman? it's about hundreds of millions of dollars. where did all the money go? >> it was like matches and dynamite. how much of this did she now? >> how deep does this go? >> she loved us. at the drop of a hot, she tur on me when she needed money. >> for him to be involved in such a massive scheme and then for it to involve a real

housewife. >> my reaction was, oh, crap. >> what the heck is happening here? ♪ >> tom girardi called "the l.a. times" dozens of times. i have an audio recording. >> this is thomas girardi. >> i see him as a master manipulator. >> i saw tom girardi to you? >> the devil. >> he can play the villain on "real housewives" if you want. >> i wanted erika to say i'm sorry, face-to-face. >> erika, why did it take you so long? >> i was never asked to do this. nobody was interested in my side of the story. >> "the housewife and the hustler 2." >> this is the beginning of the story and not the end. >> only on hulu. that's "nightline" for this