Ellen's 'Gardener,' Billy Reilich, Gets Seriously Sexy in New Snaps

You laughed along with him when he was playing Ellen's shirt-shucking gardener, "Nick," but Billy Reilich is taking shirtlessness to the next level in a series of sun-kissed photos by photographer Kimber Capriotti, with grooming by Lydia Brock.

Reilich relocated to Los Angeles from Ohio once his regular appearances on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" drew attention to his acting career, landing a brief appearance in "Magic Mike XXL." Now, he's focusing on modeling, appearing in a shoot that calls to mind vintage Calvin Klein or those '80s Soloflex ads featuring Scott Madsen.

He says that he still sweats it when he knows he has a big shoot like this one.

"I may have one or two days' notice to get ready for a photo shoot. I always want to put out the best product."

"I love getting finished products back; it's an awesome feeling seeing what my body can do and what an artist can capture. Sometimes I get nervous posting parts of my shoots. I have family and close friends following me that I'm sure get red in the face when they see them. Like, in this most recent shoot, I'm basically only in underwear, and in a few I'm not wearing underwear at all! Those might just get kept secret for a while."

"When all's said and done, I think my body has a long way to go before it's where I want it to be. But people give me compliments, and I love every one of them."

You can give him a few compliments over at his Facebook page or on Instagram.