“Players” and “Lucifer” Star Tom Ellis Is No Longer 'Riddled with Insecurity' in Shirtless Scenes (Exclusive)

The 'Lucifer' actor, who stars in Netflix's new rom-com 'Players,' talks Valentine's Day, his wife Meaghan Oppenheimer and 'Tell Me Lies' season 2

Tom Ellis isn't afraid of taking his shirt off on camera.

The actor, who stars alongside Gina Rodriguez in the new Netflix rom-com Players, is known for his charismatic portrayal of the Devil incarnate in Lucifer — and the character's many topless scenes.

He admits he “used to really get nervous” about removing his clothes onscreen, but since changing his philosophy around working out, he’s grown more confident in front of the camera.

“I'm not as riddled with insecurity in those moments as I used to be. It's always gonna be weird taking the clothes off in a room with lots of people just watching you,” Ellis, 45, tells PEOPLE. “It's not my favorite part of the job, but it is part of it. And you've got to get over it quickly.”

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

Ellis sparked an instant friendship with Rodriguez on set, bonding over the shared experience of branching out from their long-term TV roles. He says, “I'd never played a character for such a long time. And I was able to talk to Gina about that, and she was really understanding about it because she'd had a similar experience doing Jane the Virgin.”

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He elaborates, “Coming out of that, you’re kind of riddled with insecurity that that character is so embedded in you that you can only ever play that character again.”

Players, his first film following Lucifer’s five-year run, tackles the impossibility of orchestrating a love story. The movie 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 that the pair meet, but Ellis says they “were both really flaky” about setting up a date. One night, the two ended up at the same restaurant for dinner. Ellis introduced himself to the writer and ended up joining the table. Since then, the actor says they’ve “not left each other’s sides” in almost 10 years.

“When the right person is the right person — and I said this when we got married — I felt like when I met her, I was like, ‘There you are.’ Like I knew her already,” Ellis says of Oppenheimer, 37.

“You can't manufacture these things. I talk about a missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle. There is a certain piece out there that will fit, and I strongly believe in that. You can't force anything into that. It's got to have all the right little bits.”

The couple wed in 2019 after four years together. Last November, they welcomed their first child, a daughter named Dolly. “She’s a dream,” he says. “I probably spend more time watching her than anything on my TV recently. She's just fascinating and fun and just a little ball of chubby loveliness.”

Related: See Gina Rodriguez in Trailer for 'Tender-Hearted and Irreverent' New Netflix Rom-Com Players (Exclusive)

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 “are the least impressed” at his work, only giving his face on the TV “a cursory glance.”

Today, he thinks his daughters would “rather curl up in a ball of embarrassment” at their father onscreen.

“The only thing they get impressed by is the people that I'm working with,” Ellis says. “For example, on Players, one of my daughters was a big Jane the Virgin fan, so she was delighted to meet Gina and spend some time with her.”

Players has a Valentine’s Day premiere. Does the Lucifer star have any plans with his wife for Cupid’s special day? Citing comedian Jim Jefferies, Ellis says, “There's no man in the world who sees that Valentine's Day is going up in the shops and goes, ‘Oh, it’s Valentine’s Day soon!’ ”

The pair will continue to spend plenty of time together, both at home and at work. Ellis says they are “very mindful of each other,” so Valentine’s Day–style activities happen more than once a year for them.

On top of their quality time, Ellis has been tapped for a series regular role on season 2 of Oppenheimer’s Hulu show Tell Me Lies. Of working on set with his wife, he has nothing but words of admiration.

“The good thing is that I have a huge amount of 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 lovely job for me to be doing,” he says.

Players is now on Netflix.

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