Keri Russell’s go-to outfit bears a striking resemblance to a certain fictional astronaut — at least, her partner, Matthew Rhysseems to think so.

While her character on The DiplomatKate Wyler, is known for rocking a power suit or a classy dress, Russell, 49, exclusively tells PEOPLE that she tends to gravitate toward something a little more comfortable in her daily life.

“Typically, I don’t prefer a sequined dress. Some people do feel powerful in those; I do not,” she admits. “I would say I tend to want to be more comfortable and feel cool versus beautiful or sexy.”

As for what the Felicity actress reaches for instead? “Probably a jacket of some sort,” Russell explains. “Matthew, my guy, always says — I’ll come down wearing something, like, I was obsessed with wearing the same leather jacket over and over for so many years, with these chinos. And he’s like, ‘Oh, Sam Shepard from The Right Stuff again?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ ”

Indeed, Russell makes it clear that she would rather embody Shepard’s character from the 1983 sci-fi film over dealing with the struggles that come with wearing a restrictive dress.

“There’s a million times you’re at an event or you have to stay late at an awards show or something, and you’ve traveled on your own and you can’t undo the thing on your back,” she emphasizes. “Debora Cahnwho writes our show, we were in D.C. at, I think it was the Correspondents’ Dinner, and it was late. I was so tired. I was just about to turn the lights out and there’s a knock on my door and I was like, ‘Who’s knocking at my f——? Creepy.’ ”

But when she opened the door, she found Cahn standing there, unable to free herself from the confines of her dress. “ ‘Will you zip me?’ ” Russell recalls her asking. “We’ve all been there.”

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.

Aside from sharing that Rhys, 50, will occasionally comment on her predictable fashion choices, Russell also reveals that her longtime partner — with whom she shares 9-year-old son Sam — “would love to” join The Diplomat if given the opportunity.

“But he’s pretty busy doing a million other things,” she adds. “He’s got, like, five other jobs or something. He has two new things coming out, so we’ll see.”