Aaron Pierre Reveals Habit He Picked Up from Kyle Chandler on ‘Lanterns’ Set: ‘I’ve Been Doing It Ever Since’ (Exclusive)

Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler learned a little something from each other on the set of ‘Lanterns.’ The costars tell PEOPLE about the lessons they’re taking away from their time on the HBO superhero crime drama.

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NEED TO KNOW

Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler have taken a few notes from each other on set of their new superhero series

The pair caught up with PEOPLE to discuss lessons learned on the set of HBO’s Lanterns

Pierre also breaks down the habit he adopted from Chandler and why he’s “been doing it ever since”

Aaron Pierre enjoys the “moments of respite” a little more on set between takes, and he’s giving credit to Kyle Chandler for getting him there.

The Lanterns star, 32, spent enough time on set with Chandler, 60, that he eventually picked up on a new habit. Speaking with PEOPLE about their latest HBO crime drama, Pierre shares what Chandler taught him in between their superhero scenes, and why it’s stuck with him ever since.

“I tend to, in certain contexts, follow a line and a rule that is sort of unspoken. So at lunch breaks and stuff, I would often just go into my trailer and eat my lunch, and then when they knock for me, I’ll come out, go to work again,” Pierre says.

He adds, “But I started to notice — it had to have been almost effective immediately — Kyle would always request this camping chair where he would sit out and he would just enjoy the sun and enjoy the fresh air, no matter where we were on location.”

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That lesson, Pierre admits, soon became a habit he “picked up very quickly.”

“I would sit on an apple box or a camping chair and just enjoy the moments in between work that didn’t have to be in the trailer,” he says. “It could be outside enjoying the weather, enjoying your lunch and just enjoying those moments of respite in between the very rigorous work schedule. That was something I adopted from Kyle, and I’ve been doing it ever since really.”

While Pierre plays apparent new recruit John Stewart opposite Chandler’s Lantern legend Hal Jordan, Chandler did pick up on a few things from his costar in the process too.

“The word discipline shows up in my journals quite a bit, like, ‘I got to start over again. Discipline, discipline, discipline.’ This guy, he’s got really good discipline,” Chandler says of Pierre. “He’s got a particular discipline. I just mean, he’s disciplined.”

He adds, “I know him well enough to know that he puts his mind to something and he does it. He does it, it’s going to happen, and I’ve seen it. I know how hard he works and I’ve taken a lot of that. I’ve gotten a lot of that, and that’s helped me a great deal in my personal life because it’s an example. He showed me.”

While Chandler jokes he “could have used more discipline when we started the show” and Pierre “could have used less,” they ended up meeting somewhere in the middle as two superheroes would.

“I think that’s when we started sharing and we started having a really good time, and that’s part of it,” he says.

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Lanterns, from DC Studios and Warner Bros. Television, also features stars Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Laura Linney, Jason Ritter, Ulrich Thomsen, Nathan Fillion, J. Alphonse Nicholson and Jasmine Cephas Jones.

New episodes of Lanterns air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and stream on HBO Max.

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