Reba McEntire‘s Reba co-star Christopher Rich says he hasn’t worked for about 10 years, and after a 2018 stroke made it difficult for him to use the left side of his body, he wasn’t sure if he ever would again.

But McEntire changed all that, he goes on to say, by inviting him in for a guest appearance on her new sitcom Happy’s Place.

“I’ve basically taken the last decade off, and if anybody was gonna drag me out of the dark corner of the closet, it’d be the redhead,” Rich jokes in a new ET Online interview with McEntire and fellow Reba co-star — who also appears on Happy’s Place — Melissa Peterman.

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Rich plays the role of a tattoo artist on a new episode of the show. His disability was written into the script, too: His character has had a stroke, and cannot use his left hand.

Rich tells ET Online that during his career hiatus, McEntire and Peterman continued to encourage him to stay in the world of acting, inviting him to “parties and reunion things” as well as staying in touch as his friends.

But getting in front of the camera again was no easy feat, and he needed a very specific set of circumstances to feel comfortable foraying back into that realm.

“I needed someplace where I could feel safe to trot this broken body out again, and they made the place” Rich continues. Many of the producers working on Happy’s Place also worked on Reba, and he explains that he feels like he’s worked with them “my whole life.”

During the interview, McEntire and Peterman commended Rich’s bravery for venturing back out into acting for his Happy’s Place guest spot.

“It wasn’t easy for him to come back and do this,” McEntire acknowledges. “… For him to have the courage to come do this, and make everybody feel so comfortable. He did have a stroke, and he’s back, acting. And that gives such inspiration to other people: You can do it.”

Rich jokes that he’s “not gonna get all sappy,” but also doesn’t downplay the enormous role McEntire has played in his recovery.

“She woke my life up by making me do this. She really did,” he relates. “I was ready to … but now I’m back in the race. I’m gonna make it to the finish line. I may have to limp across it, but I’m getting there.”

Rich recently shared some details about his stroke and brain injury with US Weekly, saying that the devastating health setback felt like getting hit with an “atomic bomb.”

“After I finally got out of the hospital, I was moving around again,” he remembers. “Then I threw a bunch of blood clots and ended up in the hospital with lung embolisms and debris on my heart. After surviving all of that crap, I’m feeling really, really good.”

Happy’s Place is currently in its debut season. The show airs on NBC.