Steven Weber Says Dinner Club with Laurence Fishburne, Eric McCormack and More Fellow Actors Is a ‘Real Lifeline’ (Exclusive)

Steven Weber is grateful to have his fellow ‘90s stars by his side after all these years.

The Wings alum, 62, opened up to PEOPLE at the Project Angel Food Angel Awards on Saturday about how his friendships with fellow actors have been “a real lifeline” for him.

At the event, held at the Project Angel Food headquarters in Los Angeles, Weber shared that he is “part of this informal group called the CADS, the Character Actor Dining Society.”

Aside from Weber, the 12 members include Wings costar Tim Daly, Eric McCormack, Laurence Fishburne, Noah Wyle, Alfred Molina, LeVar Burton, Richard Kind, Spencer Garrett, Kevin Pollak, Rob Morrow and “a bunch more.”

For the last few years, the CADS have been meeting up once a month for dinner, where “we all look at each other and say, ‘We’re still here,’” according to Weber.

They also have a group text that they chat on every day. “It’s been a real lifeline and it’s been very grounding,” he added.

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The ‘90s television star is especially thankful to have the friendship of his fellow CADS members amid the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

He explained: “There’s so much in the theater and the industries about community and out here in Los Angeles, it’s very easy to become isolated. You’re in your car, you’re in your head. You’re in the mirror. But the whole idea that you’re with contemporaries who have been through similar challenges over the years, it’s been fantastic. It’s been great.”

It turns out that Weber has McCormack to thank, as the Will & Grace alum, 60, is “a key founder of that bunch.”

“In fact, when he opened on Broadway, a whole bunch of us CADS went to greet him and support him,” recalled Weber.

Weber — who filled in for McCormack as co-host of the Project Angel Food Angel Awards as he currently stars in Broadway’s production of The Cottage — told PEOPLE that their bond has “meant the world” to him.

“He’s a genuine friend. We’re very honest with each other and have been from the beginning,” he said.

Reflecting on all of his friendships, Weber shared with PEOPLE: “I have finally in my life at this age, a group of friends that have all been through the wars, everybody’s been through all this personal stuff and professional stuff, and it’s easy to isolate in this business. It’s easy to just stand there and look in the mirror and watch yourself decay and get all crazy with vanity, neurosis and narcissism.”

“But my group of friends are all full of gratitude. We’re pinching each other that we’re still here,” he continued. “We are incredibly lucky and we know it. And we support each other. We help each other and we’re honest with each other and there’s no competition. And [McCormack] epitomizes that.”

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