Toby Sandeman Talks ‘Freeing’ Role in ‘Twelve Dates ‘Til Christmas’ (Exclusive)

Toby Sandeman is in his Hallmark era — and he’s loving it.

The Running Point star, 37, stars as Richard, a love interest Kate (Mae Whitman) meets in the holiday matchmaking program her friends wrangle her into in Twelve Dates ‘Til Christmas.

Sandeman was drawn to the character, who, per the synopsis, catches Kate off guard when they meet and “reinvigorates her zest for life,” because of how different his personality is.

“What really drew me to Richard is the fact that… It’s interesting, when I look at characters, one of the first things I look at is, what’s similar and what’s different? And what jumped out to me was that Richard doesn’t carry the suspicion of the world that I do,” he tells PEOPLE during a visit to the series’ set in Ireland earlier this year.

“I have these weird quirks when I go to a restaurant, I have to sit in a certain way, I have to face forward,” he explains. “When I was walking with Mary [McDonnell], who plays Delilah, I said, ‘Let me walk on the outside’. Very gentleman-like, but these are things that are me.”

Richard, on the other hand, is “not confined by these things,” which Sandeman likes. “He wants to be inspired by love, so he goes off to Paris. There’s a lot more spontaneity to how he moves and I thought, ‘That would be very exciting to explore,’ ” he says.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories

If he’s being honest, the former track athlete says he doesn’t “really give myself that freedom” that Richard does. Where he has “suspicion,” Richard doesn’t. “And that’s nice, that’s sort of freeing,” he says. “He gets out of the house more than I do.”

Getting to work with Whitman, 37, was a joy, too. “She’s so quick-witted. I have a very dry sense of humor and I think we share that, but it’s just been lovely to riff on someone like that,” Sandeman says of his “fantastic” costar and on-screen love interest.

“And to do a Christmas rom-com, it’s nice to do a feel-good movie,” he adds.

Twelve Dates ‘Til Christmas was adapted from Jenni Bayliss’ 2020 novel, and sees Whitman star as a talented Saville Row textile pattern designer whose best friends, Laura (Lucy Eaton) and Callum (Julian Morris), coerce her into the holiday-themed matchmaking program “in an attempt to get Kate out of her rut,” per the official synopsis.

Things get complicated when Kate’s globe-trotting mom, Delilah (McDonnell), “unexpectedly shows up on her doorstep,” throwing off not only her holidays but also her dad Mac’s (Nathaniel Parker), as he’s been exploring a Christmas-time romance of his own with local widow Evelyn (Jane Seymour).

“As Kate wends her way through the 12 dates, she takes a circuitous route to romance while also making some important discoveries about herself,” the synopsis teases.

New episodes of Twelve Dates ‘Til Christmas air Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on Hallmark Channel.