Hunter McVey’s breakout role in the newest 9-1-1 installment “came out of the blue,” he said, adding, “no pun intended.”

McVey plays Blue Bennings on 9-1-1: Nashville, a high-action drama that premiered last month. Ryan Murphy, Tim Minear and Rashad Raisani teamed up to create the series, which also stars LeAnn Rimes, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Chris O’Donnell, Jessica Capshaw, Hailey Kilgore, Michael Provost and Juani Feliz. Award-winning artist Kane Brown made a guest appearance in the first episode (as a “fanboy,” McVey said it’d also be “cool” to work with Chris Stapleton). ABC describes the newest show in the 9-1-1 franchise as “a high-octane procedural about heroic first responders, as well as their family saga of power and glamour set in one of America’s most diverse and dynamic cities.”

McVey landed his role on the show after he submitted an audition tape for a documentary that Murphy was working on, which led to his 9-1-1: Nashville audition. Now, he has “a completely new outlook” on life and on TV show production, “just learning how much goes into something like this and how much blood, sweat, tears, and time goes in from all 200 people involved to create something like this. It is magical to watch, and I'm happy some people are enjoying it half as much as I'm enjoying being part of it.”

“It was a whirlwind of emotions,” McVey said in a recent interview with iHeartCountry. He spent several 10-hour days working with his acting coach to prepare for the role, and has experienced “the wildest six months of my life.” Blue Bennings is “figuring it out,” McVey said of his character. “He's not the most traditional guy from a sense, but he has a lot of qualities that admire and he's a very loyal man and he wants to take care of his loved ones. It was something I really admire about Blue's character.”

The Tennessee-born actor plays a firefighter cadet who finds himself learning about his complicated family history, particularly involving his parents, played by O’Donnell and Rimes. McVey’s role has demanded a range from deeply emotional, vulnerable storylines to high-intensity scenes and stunt work (which keeps his music ranging from meditation and healing frequencies to Metallica and AC/DC).

“I asked them to let me do anything they'll let me,” McVey said of his high-adrenaline stunts. “We get to work with extremely talented and professional stunt teams and stunt doubles that, if I'm in a situation where we're in between them letting me do it or not, a lot of the times it works out because the stunt doubles on set with us will teach me how to do it properly, how to do it safely. We can run through some trials, see if I'm comfortable or not doing it. But I'm someone who really, really loves adrenaline, really loves high speeds. I love riding motorcycles. I love face and hair in the wind in high places. And one of my favorite moments was when we had saved the woman from the slide collapse...and I was up there about 50 feet or so up, just looking over Old Hickory and the sun was setting.

“I get these moments a lot, almost every day on set, where it's just like, ‘pinch me,’” he continued. “Is this my real life? Is this my career? Is this my job? How cool is this? How blessed am I? …Every stunt that they allow me to do, I will do. It just goes into being in that moment so much where it feels incredibly real. And I think that may help show to the audience as well on how realistic some of those scenes are.”

McVey also credited the caliber of his cast mates — including Grammy-winning artist Rimes — with being “amazing…people that I get to learn from and watch on a daily basis.” He also applauded real first responders who spend time with the cast on set, and offer guidance to portray the profession on screen.

“I've learned that I couldn't be a real first responder,” McVey admitted. “They are the true heroes that hopefully can be represented in a good light by what we're doing because not only are most of the firefighters and first responders working their full-time job, they're also coming to the set in their time off to either film with us or make sure that we know exactly what we're doing in terms of the medical scenes, in terms of the firefighting scenes itself, the chiefs, the captains, and so, it's a blessing to be able to learn from them. It's a blessing to be able to be around people that are so selfless. …It's phenomenal, and they've helped me a ton,” he added later. “They allow me to feel confident and know what I'm doing going into the scene, and then they're so supportive and so nice and so genuine as well, where they've became family over a short period of time.

“I'm trying to focus on bringing my 100% best to the set every single day and trying to make the incredible audience and fans of the 9-1-1 universe proud,” McVey shared with iHeartCountry as he looked ahead to what’s next. “If I looked a year ago and guessed where I would be today, I would be completely far off. So, I don't want to put any limiting beliefs or ceilings on it. But I want to focus on the projects at hand and release the reins of the outcomes and expectations and continuing to enjoy on a daily basis, be present and see what comes along. But I have a lot of hobbies. I like a lot of things. I love meeting new people. I love pushing myself. I love learning new things. So whatever life, God, the universe throws my way. It is going to be fun to see whatever it is.”

The fall finale of 9-1-1: Nashville aired on Thursday evening (November 13). The show's first season returns on Thursday, January 8. 9-1-1: Nashville airs on ABC on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, and is available to stream the following day on Hulu.

Granger Smith