Jania Ashlynn
Jesse Lee, the actor that played Detective Jay Halstead on Chicago P.D. sat down with Variety to talk about why he walked away from the television show.
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Heartfelt Goodbyes
Soffer, 38, let fans in on his decision to exit the series and leave his character behind.
“I’ve thought so hard about how to answer this question, and there’s no good answer, except I was ready for more. Eventually, you know the character so well, there’s not much that can shift or transform,” the actor explained.
He expressed his gratitude for the final episodes that the showrunner, Gwen Sigan was able to give him. There was closure with the character.
Moving Forward
Soffer went into more detail about his exit from the show and why he made the decision.
“I really wanted to grow and expand, and we’ve only got this one trip. If I signed up again, it would have been for another three years. I would have turned 40 on the show. I thought, ‘You know what? It’s time to take a risk,'” he confessed, adding, “It was one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to make in my life.”
The actor also expressed a deep love and heartfelt appreciation for his fans. “Let’s be honest: I love the fans of our show so much, and I love my fans. I know that they’re still grieving this, and to some degree, I am too.”
In the fall of 2022, Soffer made his last appearance as the beloved detective on the third episode of the 10th season of the show. In total, he appeared in 189 episodes. He’s also had the opportunity of returning to the series as a guest director on the Chicago P.D. episode “Deadlocked.”
