Nathan Fillion Laments Death of Soap Operas After Run on One Life to Live, Calls Them ‘Incredible Place to Learn the Craft’

Nathan Fillion is looking back on his four-year stint on One Life to Live and reflecting on the invaluable lessons the show taught him.

The Rookie star joined hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on the Tuesday, March 11, episode of Live with Kelly and Mark, where Consuelos asked him about playing Joey Buchanan on the classic ABC soap opera from 1994 to 1997.

“I’m fond of saying I was the best Joey ever,” Fillion, 53, joked. “There was only about 24 of us!”

In fact, Fillion was the fourth of seven actors to play the role on the series between 1980 and 2011. His performance earned him a 1996 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series. But as one of his earliest acting jobs, being on One Life to Live also provided a lot for the showbiz newbie.

“I didn’t have anybody in my life who was involved in the entertainment industry in any way, and on One Life to Live, I had 30 mentors,” Fillion said. “Everybody there was so kind to me. They really welcomed me, taught me anything.”

“Every day I use something I learned on the soap,” he added. “Especially that level of professionalism. What integrity they had.”

In particular, Fillion singled out One Life to Live veteran Robert S. Woods for giving him the best advice when he was deciding whether to leave the show to pursue other opportunities.

“Bob Woods said, ‘Hey man, you gotta go. Pack up your bags, go to L.A. And this is what you’re going to do and this is what they’re going to say and this is what you’re going go answer,’ ” Fillion recalled. “I did everything exactly word-for-word like he said. Everything panned out exactly like he said it would.”

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.  

As Consuelos noted, it wasn’t long after Fillion left One Life to Live that he landed a role in Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award-winning 1998 film Saving Private Ryan. He later went on to star in the cult favorite sci-fi series Firefly and the ABC sitcom Two Guys and a Girl, along with dozens of other film and TV roles, including The Rookie.

On Live, Ripa noted that getting started in soap operas is “the best training ground” for young actors, and Fillion agreed. (She and Consuelos famously met on the set of All My Children.)

“I am so sad that is a dying medium,” he said. “I really am. Incredible place to really learn the craft at a break-neck pace.”