Kristoffer Polaha Celebrates 10 Years Since Hallmark Movie with Meghan Markle (Exclusive)

Kristoffer Polaha might need to sit down. The actor is having such a big full-circle moment that he could be getting dizzy.

On Jan. 30, the actor celebrated the 10th anniversary of his first Hallmark Channel movie, Dater’s Handbook with Meghan Markle, and, on the 31st, his 21st Hallmark movie, Missing the Boat with Emilie Ullerup, will premiere. And his next big project, his directorial debut Mimicswhich hits theaters on Feb. 13, was also inspired by his time on set with the Duchess of Sussex.

“It is wild to me,” Polaha, who recently shared behind-the-scenes photos from his 10 years on Hallmark on Instagram, tells PEOPLE. “Ten years went by in a flash, and it’s been an incredible ride. It’s like a Russian doll: I kept opening up this gift and another gift was inside, and this gift, and it just kept giving.”

The Wonder Woman actor, 48, admits that when he arrived on the set of Dater’s Handbookhis “expectations were low.”

“I knew that the shoot was fast and furious, and it was going to be a grind,” he says. “What I didn’t expect was to have as much fun as I did. It was just a lot of fun.”

While Polaha says he and Meghan, 44, haven’t been in touch since shortly after the movie’s release (she and Prince Harry started dating in July 2016), a moment they shared on set has stuck with him.

“We walked into this little diner, and the director was great on Dater’s Handbookbut he was a little overwhelmed by this location. It didn’t look like he thought it was going to in his head,” Polaha recalls. “I’m one of those people that just, if there’s a void, I’ll fill it, so I was like, ‘Well, I have an idea.'”

The actor, who’d previously starred on North Shore, Life Unexpected and Ringerwent on to share his insight and ideas for a shot list that included close-ups of himself and Meghan and more.

“The director was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do that,’ and went with my idea. Then Meghan turned to me, and she’s like, ‘Why aren’t you directing? You should be a director. I would be in your movie.’

“She spoke life into that for me,” Polaha continues. “I think that was the first time where I was like, ‘I think I should direct. I’m going to move in that direction.'”

Ten years (and a few short films) later, Polaha is making his directorial debut with the romantic horror-comedy Mimicsabout a struggling comedian who becomes a ventriloquist after connecting with a dummy that has a mind of its own.

“It’s a weird thing to go from never having done anything to asking people for a million dollars and being like, ‘Bet on me, I promise you I can do this thing,'” Polaha says of finding funding for his film. Meghan’s encouragement contributed to his confidence in doing so. “It was the first time someone looked at me on set and said, ‘You’re a director.'”

Even as the father of three celebrates the 10th anniversary of Dater’s Handbookthe premiere of Missing the Boat and the arrival of Mimics in theaters, he’s working. Next up: Polaha stars alongside Jon Hamm and Giovanni Ribisi in the upcoming series American Hostage.

“It’s the most intense show I’ve ever been a part of,” he says. “Everybody involved is extremely high caliber. I’m feeling pretty good to be a part of it.”

Polaha accepts that he’s having “a little moment” right now, adding, “In the wildest way, I’m making these dreams come true, inviting myself to the table, and doing it on my own terms.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Missing the Boat premieres on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, Jan . 31 at 8 pm ET. Dater’s Handbook is available to stream on Hallmark+. And Mimics arrives in theaters nationwide on Feb. 13.