9-1-1 may be taking a week-long hiatus, but Decider has a sweet confession from

Oliver Stark to help hold fans over. The upcoming episode of ABC’s hit drama, which

airs on Thursday, November 7, will feature emergencies involving a toddler falling

down a pipe and a man dealing with a divorce. The episode is also expected to include relationship hurdles for Buck (Stark) and Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.), developments in Eddie’s (Ryan Guzman) story, and the return of Season 1’s Hot Priest, which may explain the title: “Confessions.” While we’ll have to wait and see what confessions 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 6 has in store, in honor of the title, we asked Stark to share a confession of his own. When tasked with revealing something personal about himself, Stark admitted he’s become the person he is today thanks to 9-1-1.

“This has been a huge period of our lives. We’re coming on eight years, which is longer than your high school. It’s longer than periods of time that people consider extremely formative in our lives,” Stark explained. “So I feel like in many ways I have grown into the person I am through my own experience, and that has been guided and influenced by the people I get to work with every day.” The idea that his 9-1-1 experience helped shape the kind of person Stark is today has been prevalent in Season 8, and it’s even come up in conversation with colleagues like Peter Krause. “Pete sent me a lovely text a couple of days ago when we wrapped and he said, ‘You really took control of a scenario we had going on at work,’” Stark recalled. “We were just trying to figure out a scene. And I texted the back and I said, ‘Listen. If ever I do this, it’s only because I learn from watching you.’”

BRB, sobbing! Stark told Decider that he and Krause “have a good relationship,” and during a Season 7 interview, Krause praised Stark as well, saying, “I really enjoyed working with Oliver over the seasons. All these actors are just fantastic, but I think over the course of time, Oliver’s been a very brave performer and I think he’s doing a great job.” Again, where are the tissues? In past interviews, Stark has spoken about finding parts of himself through characters and putting “a lot” of himself into Buck, but as both an actor and a person, he also feels he’s grown a great deal because of his colleagues. “I confess that I have grown into the person that I am thanks to my cast and the crew around me,” Stark said.

As for “Confessions” the episode, Stark teased challenges ahead for Buck and Tommy, saying, “It’s a case of being in a new relationship with someone and there’s more and more stuff to learn about them. Some of that stuff can be jarring and make you have to reevaluate where you are. I think that’s true of any relationship, whether that’s on television or in real life.” There’s a whole theory that the “jarring” revelation could include Buck’s ex Abby (Connie Britton), but whatever the twist is, Stark said, “It’s just a reflection of those two people figuring each other out, learning more about each other, and then working out if the relationship is worth navigating those issues and fighting to stay together for.” The 9-1-1 star also teased more Eddie-centric episodes ahead, saying, “The Eddie storyline is going to take over a little bit moving forward. Buck is going to have his own challenges to deal with. But I think what’s nice is being able to see a friendship as close as this where they can still show up for each other even though they are dealing with their own troubles and difficulties.”