Miles Heizer Loves That Boots Isn’t Like Any Other Military Show, Not People Expect (Exclusive)

Working on Boots proved to be a game-changing experience for Miles Heizer in more ways than one.

The new Netflix dramedy series, created by Andy Parker and based on Greg Cope White’s 2015 memoir The Pink Marine, follows closeted American teen Cameron Cope (Heizer) as he opts to join the US Marine Corps in the 1990s alongside his straight best friend Ray McAffey (Liam Oh).

Heizer’s Cameron struggles to find his place in the world before enlisting in the Marines straight out of high school. His boot camp experience serves as a coming-of-age journey for the character as his perspective on manhood changes.

Working on the series also shifted Heizer’s own point of view.

“To be honest, I never really connected heavily with manhood growing up,” the Parenthood alum, 31, says to PEOPLE exclusively.

“I was raised by women. I had predominantly female friends. I was aware I was gay from a very young age,” he continues. “I think that I sort of held myself back from developing friendships with men, especially straight men because I think I was afraid of not being accepted or not belonging, not fitting in.”

Heizer notes that it “was such an incredible experience for me to be put in this situation with these boys” on Boots.

“We so genuinely come from different backgrounds, different states [and countries],” he says of his castmates. “To have built these super-strong connections with these people is something that I probably would never have put myself in a position to do, and it was very enlightening for me in that regard as well.” 

The show also stars Max Parker, Vera Farmiga, Cedrick Cooper, Ana Ayora, Angus O’Brien, Dominic Goodman, Kieron Moore, Nicholas Logan, Blake Burt and Rico Paris.

To play Marine recruits in bootcamp, the cast really did feel like they were in training together.

“We ended up having this sort of phantom boot camp experience where we really did [bond],” Heizer shares. “I think part of boot camp is sort of stripping away your individuality and creating this group mindset. And in some weird way, I feel like we really had that because we shot over almost a two-year span of time of the writers’ strike and actors’ strike.”

“So, over this time period, it’s like we only saw each other like bald in about three outfits.” 

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Elaborating on what he calls a “very abnormal shooting schedule where everyone is in every scene no matter what,” Heizer says, “We’re confined to these sets, so you’re always in the background somewhere. So no one ever had a day off.”

“Everyone was always there, so we just spent so much time together and created really, really close bonds and connections,” the 13 Reasons Why alum continues. “There’s all this physical activity and these things that sort of end up bonding you, because you’re in the New Orleans heat and you’re miserable, but you’re also kind of having the best time of your life.”

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“It’s like this experience that’s just completely indescribable to someone who wasn’t there. So we’re super connected because of that,” he adds.  

As he reflects on the series as a whole, Heizer shares that his “favorite part of the show” is that “it’s not really like any other military show or movie.”

“I think it’s not going to be what people are expecting,” he concludes. “It does simultaneously give you a lot of heart, and it is very uplifting in a way that I think that the people will maybe expect and hope for. But it’s also very funny and witty and has this interesting point of view that’s sort of uncommon, especially for this topic [and] this subject matter.”

Boots is now streaming on Netflix.