On the small screen, it’s clear that actor Mehcad Brooks’s celebrity is on the rise, with him appearing on shows such as Desperate Housewives and True Blood. Now, as a star player on the hit series Necessary Roughness, the thespian appears poised for breakout success playing pro wide receiver Terrence King, who suffers from a bad temper and a bad case of butterfingers (he keeps dropping the ball). The New York Post caught up with Brooks for an interview, asking him about his modeling career before his acting fame and the serious car accident he was in right when he started on Necessary Roughness.

When asked how his the car crash happened, Brooks explains, “I was sitting at a stop light. [And] somebody decided to use me as the brakes.” On his recovery, he says: “I was in and out of it for a couple of days. It’s excruciating, trying to slowly get back into exercising.”

But where the interview delves deeper is when Brooks is asked about his former career as an underwear model for Calvin Klein. “I had wanted to be a Calvin Klein model since I was 17,” he says. “Marky Mark in his Calvin Kleins was the epitome of male sexuality. That was something I worked for.” Apparently, Brooks has no qualms about his body or nudity, stating: “I feel like the human body is what it is and the more you make yourself comfortable with it, the better off you are. Love your body and embrace that. If that means being naked, that means being naked. If you’re aware it’s not that hard to eat well and go to the gym and make yourself look good. Then you can embrace what it is you have.”

Necessary Roughness airs Wednesday at 10 p.m. on USA.

(Photo:Andrew Marks/PictureGroup)