Baywatch may be all sunshine and tan bodies on the screen.

But the reality of filming the beachside series is much less romantic—just take it from Stephen Amell, the actor stepping into the role of Hobie Buchannon in the Baywatch reboot.

“Nobody wants to hear this,” he teased to E! News at the FOX Upfront on May 11, “because I remember watching Baywatch in Toronto, in the early ‘90s, and when you see the sun and the surf, you think it’s 82 on the beach and 84 in the ocean. It’s not.”

He continued, “So, getting in the water when the water is freezing cold is just part of the job.”

And there isn’t just freezing water to contend with while filing the series—which also stars Shay Mitchell, Brooks Nader, Noah Beck and Livvy Dunne—there’s also the sand.

“Running on the sand is hard,” Stephen explained. “I’ve had to get very good at holding my breath, which I thought I was good at before but, apparently, I wasn’t.”