The calm and collected Gavin MacIntosh has had a great run on The Fosters as Connor, Jude’s friend who is dealing with a less than ideal family/home environment. “He’s a really cool kid,” Gavin says about Connor. “He’s a great friend to Jude.”

As kind and understanding as he is, Connor is up against a lot on the show, which the actor feels can help young adults dealing with similar issues in real life. “I wasn’t really a typical kid,” Gavin shares. “I relate to [Connor]. A lot of kids are getting bullied, [but they] will see Connor, and it will help them out with their bullying issues.”

As for his moments of closeness with Hayden Byerly, who plays Jude on the show, Gavin says, “That was funny. It was definitely different—we had never done a scene like that before. We had a lot of laughs on set!” But this didn’t deter either actor from striking the right emotional cord, and the fact that the two have become good friends off camera only helps strengthen their performance together. “We’re like best friends off set!” Gavin says, mentioning how they hang out at Hayden’s place on the beach in Los Angeles. “It definitely helps.”

And ‘Blue for Jude’ fever hasn’t only effected Fosters fans, but the cast members themselves. “My favorite scene has to be where I paint my nails for Jude,” Gavin says, which was also Hayden’s favorite storyline from the season.

What about where Gavin hopes things will go for Connor in the future, especially now that his father is standing in the way of his growing friendship with Jude? “There’s a few interesting opinions from fans with what could happen to Connor and where he could go,” he responds, surely thinking about fans having expressed hope that the boys’ friendship could grow into something more. Without giving anything away, he states simply, “I hope they develop Connor more.”

We hope so too!