James Lafferty Talks About Getting Ready for That American Eagle Photo Shoot: 'Shave in All the Right Places' (Exclusive)

Nathan Scott, ahem, James Lafferty, is back on the court.

Lafferty, 38, who played Nathan Scott on One Tree Hill from 2003-2012, recently went back to his roots in a new campaign for American Eagle, shot on a basketball court.

In the images, which were shared widely on the brand’s social media earlier this month, Lafferty is seen shooting hoops and hitting the weight room. While in some of shots he’s sporting some of American Eagle’s gym gear, in others, the actor is stripped down to boxers, showing off his chiseled physique.

“It’s the oldest story in the world … Returning to the court in AE 24/7. @americaneagle #AEPartner,” Lafferty captioned his post shared to Instagram — a nod to a line from the beloved series.

In addition to paying homage to his One Tree Hill character, the campaign was also tied to the recent Friends with Benefits charity basketball game that Lafferty and his former costars, including Bryan Greenberg, Stephen Colletti and Robbie Jones, played in amid a weekend of reunion events in Wilmington, North Carolina, where the series was shot. The campaign went live on the same day of the game to bring help awareness to the fundraising efforts for the V Foundation.

Lafferty said that taking part in the campaign also made him think about his and Colletti’s series, Everyone Is Doing Great, which was inspired in part by the actors’ journeys following One Tree Hill.

“Frankly this campaign is something that my character would do in the show, only he would probably mess it up extravagantly,” Lafferty tells PEOPLE.

And as the Internet was swooning over the photos when they hit social media on May 18, Lafferty was busy with the festivities in Wilmington — and says he even hit a snag when trying to share the post in the first place.

“When I left the game and was back at my hotel, I didn’t have any cell service or WiFi and I actually messed up the post,” he admits, explaining that initially the last three photos in the slideshow all featured the same image.

The confusion led to some “pretty hilarious phone calls with my wife and my manager,” he says, though “at the end of the day we were happy there was something to laugh at there.”

Making matters funnier, he says, was the fact that he was with so many of his former castmates.

“I was getting roasted a little bit and it was well deserved,” he says, clarifying that it was “in a very kind way.”

“How can you not?” he admits.

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Many of Lafferty’s former costars took to Instagram to share their reactions with Hilarie Burton, who played his high school girlfriend and eventual sister-in-law on the show, writing, “What in the thirst trap is this?!?!?! James!!!!!!! Good Lord. Put a warning on stuff like this.”

“Bro you gotta warn the internet when you drop something like this!” fellow OTH alumna Sophia Bushwrote. Bryan Greenberg, who played Lafferty’s basketball teammate Jake Jagielski on the show, wrote: “Damn kid! 😤.”

Lafferty says he was not at all expecting the reaction the photos drew.

“I was going into it because it felt like the pieces fit together and of course you’re always hoping that anything you do is going to be well received,” he says. “I was just trying not to think too far down the road to be honest. I was listening to my photographer Sergio [Garcia] and just focused on doing the things he told me I needed to do because I’m not a model.”

He adds, “So, go to the gym, eat right, shave in all the necessary places and hope for the best.” 

Season 1 of Everyone is Doing Great is available to purchase on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.