Players and Lucifer Star Tom Ellis Is No Longer ‘Riddled with Insecurity’ in Shirtless Scenes (Exclusive)

Tom Ellis is not afraid to take his shirt off in front of the cameras.

The actor stars alongside Gina Rodriguez in the new Netflix rom-com Playersis known for his charismatic portrayal of the devil incarnate in Lucifer — and character a lots of topless scenes.

He admits he “used to be really nervous” about taking off his clothes on screen, but since changing his philosophy about exercise, he’s become more confident in front of the camera.

“In those moments, I’m not as burdened with insecurity as before. It’s always going to be weird taking your clothes off in a room with a lot of people just watching you,” Ellis, 45, tells PEOPLE. “It’s not my favorite part of the job, but it’s part of it. And you have to get over it quickly.”

Within the first 30 minutes of Players, Ellis’s shirt comes off for a bonding scene with Rodriguez’s protagonist Mack. After their first meeting, Ellis, as suave foreign correspondent Nick Russell, charms Mack with her good looks.

Ellis immediately struck up a friendship with Rodriguez on set, bonding over the shared experience of being apart of their longtime TV roles. He says, “I’ve never played a character for so long. And I was able to talk to Gina about it and she was very understanding because she had a similar experience Jane the Virgin.”

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KC Bailey/Netflix

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He explains, “Coming out of it, you’re a little bit insecure that that character is so ingrained in you that you can only play that character anymore.”

Playershis first film to follow Lucifera five-year show, deals with the impossibility of orchestrating a love story. The film follows Mack, Adam (Damon Wayans Jr.), Brannagan (Augustus Prew), Little (Joel Courtney) and Ashley (Liza Koshy) as they try to turn Mack’s one-night stand into a committed relationship.

For Ellis and his now-wife Meaghan Oppenheimer, the beginning of their relationship was all about timing.

A mutual friend of Ellis and Oppenheimer suggested the pair meet, but Ellis says “they were both really insecure” about agreeing to a date. One evening, the two ended up at the same restaurant for dinner. Ellis introduced himself to the writer and eventually joined the table. Since then, the actor says they “didn’t leave each other’s side” for almost 10 years.

“When the right person is the right person — and I said that when we got married — I felt like when I met her, I said, ‘There you are.’ It’s like I already knew her,” says Ellis about Oppenheimer (37).

“You can’t manufacture these things. I’m talking about the missing piece of the puzzle. There is a certain piece out there that will fit and I firmly believe that. You can’t force anything on it. It has to have all the right little things.”

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The couple got married in 2019 after four years together. Last November, they had their first child, a daughter, Dolly. “She’s a dream,” he says. “I probably spend more time watching it than anything on TV lately. She’s just fascinating and fun and just a little ball of chubby cuteness.”

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Ellis has three children from previous relationships: Nora, 18, Florence, 15, and Marnie, 11. When he spoke to PEOPLE in 2016, he said his daughters were “the least impressed” with his work, putting only his face on TV ” a cursory glance.”

Today, he thinks his daughters would “rather curl up in a ball of shame” in front of their on-screen father.

“The only thing that impresses them is the people I work with,” Ellis says. “For example, on Playersone of my daughters was big Jane the Virgin fan, so she was thrilled to meet Gina and spend some time with her.”

Players have Premiere for Valentine’s Day. Whether Lucifer star has any plans with his wife for Cupid’s special day? Quoting comedian Jim Jefferies, Ellis says, “There’s not a man in the world who sees Valentine’s Day coming up in stores and says, ‘Oh, it’s almost Valentine’s Day!’ ”

The couple will continue to spend a lot of time together, both at home and at work. Ellis says they’re “very considerate of each other,” so Valentine’s Day activities happen more than once a year.

Players.

KC Bailey/Netflix

On top of their quality time, Ellis was cast as a series regular in Season 2 of Oppenheimer’s Hulu show Tell me lies. He has only words of admiration about working on the set with his wife.

“The good thing is that I have enormous respect for Meaghan as a writer. I think she’s incredibly talented. I spend a lot of time reading scripts wishing I was in them, so this is a wonderful job for me,” he says.

Players it’s on Netflix now.

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Source: HIS Education