9-1-1 's Peter Krause, Oliver Stark, Ryan Guzman and Kenneth Choi Recount the Show's Craziest Calls

Fox's 9-1-1 is known for its outlandish disasters as much as for its starry cast and beloved characters.

But when Peter Krause, Oliver Stark, Ryan Guzman and Kenneth Choi — who are all featured in PEOPLE's 2022 Sexiest Man Alive issue, out this week — were asked to name the craziest call to film, they all chose the same one: The opening episodes of season 3 in which a tsunami struck the Santa Monica Pier.

"It's one thing to pull out your typewriter and write, 'A tidal wave hits Santa Monica,' and then it's another to go make that," says Krause, 57, who plays Capt. Bobby Nash.

"The Ferris wheel would be halfway underwater! I had no idea how they were going to do that," says Choi, 51, a.k.a. Howard "Chimney" Han, of his first reaction to those scripts.

Doug Inglish

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In the episode, Evan "Buck" Buckley (Stark) was at the pier with Eddie Diaz's (Guzman) son Christopher (Gavin McHugh). The two were separated as the wave ripped through the area, leaving the venue's famously tall ride submerged in water.

Because the show tries to film practically — instead of using special effects — as much as possible, the cast headed to Rosarito, Mexico, for the episodes so they could utilize the same massive water tanks James Cameron used to film Titanic. And while filming that way may add additional layers of complications behind the scenes, it certainly helps the actors in those big moments.

"Most of the time, we think, 'How on earth are they going to do that?'" admits Stark. "So much of the show is done practically that it kind of takes away an element of acting for us because we really are at this crazy angle, we really are in the water, whatever it is. They really bring it to life for us."

"Oliver being dragged through the water was really Oliver being dragged through the water down in Mexico," adds Krause.

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Similarly, Guzman, 35, recalls filming a terrifying earthquake scene with Stark in season 2, in which a moving, tilted floor was built on the show's soundstages.

"Me and Oliver actually got to have this big building on a gimbal that actually moved," he says. "It was pretty insane."

The floor was at such an extreme angle that the actors were sliding around. "If you let go, you're going down," Stark explains.

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Sometimes those experiences are "every little kid's dream," Guzman says.

"There was [one episode where] a skydiver got stuck in a plane so they couldn't land the plane," recalls Stark. "So myself and Ryan, we got to stand on top of the firetruck and drive it down this runway of this airport and we're on top. I remember as soon as we cut, we were both like, 'I feel like Tom Cruise!'"

Still, when it comes to the cast's favorite scenes to film, they prefer the ones where they're keeping both feet on solid ground.

"The more fun, entertaining ones that make us laugh are kind of the special ones," says Choi.

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Krause doesn't hesitate to name an episode that stands out for him: "Full Moon (Creepy AF)" from season 1. "Bobby and Buck got to go to a yoga studio where multiple women were giving birth at the same time and then we had to deal with somebody who was having a tapeworm emergency," he recalls.

"I also enjoyed when you two guys [Stark and Guzman's Buck and Eddie] were dosed [with LSD] in the episode 'Dosed' and you ... were at the little kids' beauty pageant," Krause adds, laughing.

Says Stark, "I like when the characters learn something about themselves through the emergencies. So one that comes to mind is called 'Stuck' [from season 2] and all the victims on the episode were stuck in whatever circumstances, but the characters, the heroes themselves, were also stuck in their own lives. And so to see that reflected in the emergencies and help them through it, I always think it's fun when we get to explore that."

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9-1-1 airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.