Jonathan Bennett Tears Up About ‘Powerful’ ‘Groomsmen’ Character (Exclusive)

Jonathan Bennett is getting a little teary-eyed looking back at how far he’s come.

During PEOPLE and Hallmark’s countdown to Sexiest Man Alive event on Oct. 3, the actor, 43, got emotional as he reflected on how the network’s Groomsmen trilogy was pushing boundaries when it came to LGBTQ+ representation.

According to Hallmark, the movies will follow the lives and romantic relationships of the three best friends who are “of different backgrounds, cultures, and sexual orientations” as they each find love in Greece, Italy and Bulgaria.

Bennett, who plays Danny, is described as “an ex-jock with a heart of gold.” His friend Pete (B.J. Britt) is a “kind-hearted pediatrician with a penchant for planning,” and Jackson (Tyler Hynes) is a “stylish and charming social media agent.”

The Mean Girls alum told PEOPLE how his “real life group of friends” inspired the plot of the trilogy. Like his character Danny, Bennett identifies as a gay man and also has two straight best friends.

“I don’t see a lot of those stories being told,” he said his character’s arc. “And so to tell this story of Danny, who is a former major league baseball pitcher who becomes a coach is another thing that is breaking the heteronormative storyline that you would [see] in a lot of movies.”

A lot of the times, Bennett said that playing a gay character usually means being a “fashion designer” or portraying other stereotypical expectations that come with being a LGBTQ+ lead.

“I haven’t seen, really, a gay character that was a baseball player-turned-coach. I think that’s a really interesting point of view to explore and so doing that was really powerful,” he continued, sharing that the movie series will feature Hallmark’s “first same-sex gay wedding.”

The actor shared how he and his costars have been committed to “pushing ourselves” to tell stories that not only reflect the audiences watching the films but also the stories they’ve lived through. He also noted how men’s friendships are not usually portrayed as vulnerable or open to emotions on screen.

“I don’t think we see a lot of men, whether it be straight or gay, being vulnerable with each other and opening up and saying, ‘Hey, I’m scared of this. Hey, this worries me. Hey, this is something in my life that I think about that makes me uncomfortable and I don’t know what to do about it,'” Bennett added.

“You don’t see that story a lot,” he explained. “But what it does is when that happens in a movie, it gives the people watching the courage and the availability to do it themselves.”

While reflecting on the strides he and his costars have made in these films, Bennett teared up as he recalled watching the cut for the first time.

“10 years ago, 15 years ago, I would never dream that I would be [starring] in a Hallmark movie that’s seen by so many people across middle America, in so many different places in the country … and I would be playing a gay character, getting married to another man and having two straight best friends standing behind me in the frame, supporting me and lifting me up,” he said with emotion in his voice.

“I never would’ve dreamed that I would be making that movie. And here we are and we did it,” Bennett recalled. “And not only did we do it, but we crushed it because it is so beautiful in Greece and the scenes turned out so gorgeous. So it was just a very emotional moment watching that part of the cut. I was like, ‘Wow, that’s really cool.'”

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The Groomsmen: First Look debuts on Oct. 17, followed by The Groomsmen: Second Chances on Oct. 24 and The Groomsmen: The Last Dance on Oct. 31, all on Hallmark+.