Station 19 's Boris Kodjoe and Jay Hayden Anticipate Kids' and Costars' Reaction to Sexiest Man Photos

Boris Kodjoe and Jay Hayden can't help but laugh as they sit down for an interview on the Los Angeles set of their hit ABC show, Station 19.

It is, after all, the middle of their photoshoot for the 2022 issue of PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive.

"The castmates are going to absolutely annihilate us," says Hayden, 35, as he tries to imagine how his costars will react to being featured in the issue.

"Oh yeah, for sure," Kodjoe, 49, agrees. "We're ready for that."

There are a few others whose reactions they are anticipating: their children.

Doug Inglish

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Kodjoe and Hayden — who play Robert Sullivan and Travis Montgomery, respectively, on the show — are each parents of two. Kodjoe has daughter Sophie, 17, and son Nicolas, 16, with wife Nicole Ari Parker; Hayden has daughter Amelia, 14, and son Hasey, 9, with ex-wife Nicole Moore.

"I'm going to be ripped to shreds by my kids for this," jokes Hayden, as Kodjoe quips, "Definitely. If we want to live, we have to deny it."

Hayden then adds: "Not that I'm not proud. I am. Certainly."

For more TV firefighters, pick up PEOPLE's 2022 Sexiest Man Alive issue, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here.

"I'm super proud," says Kodjoe, whose daughter famously mocks his PDA moments with her mom on social media. "I'm honored and proud. But my kids are embarrassed and mortified, so I can't tell them."

However, he is pleased to tell Parker. "My wife is super supportive of me being sexy," he says. "She's like the sexy goddess. She just said, 'Don't forget the baby oil.' That's all she gave me on my way out the door."

Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

Despite how their teens might react, both Kodjoe and Hayden admit they're excited to be a part of the show — one that features so many strong, powerful female firefighter characters.

"It's about representation," says Kodjoe. "It's about not just female empowerment — that's just where it starts — but it's about representing strong characters and they happen to be female, which is great because that's how our writers have painted these characters. They're regular people and they come multifaceted in a diverse manner."

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"It's what our kids, our daughters need to see," says Hayden. "They need to see these strong, powerful women being able to do the job and do it in an amazing way. And when our daughters come and visit the set and see the female writer, the female camera operator, the female director, the female producer, and then the female star, that's sending the message we want our kids to have."

"It's setting new norms," agrees Kodjoe.

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Station 19 airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.