Jesse Lee Soffer Compares ‘FBI: International’ and ‘Chicago P.D.’ Characters
The Fly Team has a new boss in FBI: International Season 4, but while he’s a familiar face to Dick Wolf fans, Chicago P.D.‘s Jesse Lee Soffer is playing a much different character.
Soffer joins the cast of the CBS drama in the October 15 episode, when the partner of his character, Supervisory Special Agent Wesley “Wes” Mitchell, is shot in Los Angeles and the suspect flees to Budapest, sending Wes overseas. Below, Soffer introduces his character.
Welcome to the Fly Team. So how does Wes differ from Halstead? Are there any similarities?
Jesse Lee Soffer: Well, they’re both cops, sort of. They’re very different in my mind. It’s tricky sometimes because cop thoughts are cop thoughts. So there’s scenarios where I find myself like, oh, that feels like the previous guy. And then I got to kind of readjust my brain. But Halstead had so much baggage and was dragged through the mud so many times and had such a chip on his shoulder by the end of his run on P.D. and Wes is really more carefree and has kind of an unaffected attitude and is a much lighter character and unaffected by baggage. And so in that way they feel really different.
What kind of boss is he? How does his leadership differ from Scott’s and what the Fly Team is used to? Everyone has to adjust to each other.
I think there is an adjustment. Wes really does not do things by procedure, does not do things by the book, and operates by the beat of his own drum, which is a frustration and a thorn in Smitty’s [Eva-Jane Willis] side. There’s some fun relationship dynamics to play out because of their uncertainty of, how much trouble is this guy going to get us in? So that’s really fun in the first few episodes.
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Talk about filming in Europe. What’s been the most fun about that so far?
It’s really exciting. It’s such a treat to look around sometimes and go, oh my God, we’re on the coast on a beach in Portugal and I’m filming a scene. There’s once in a lifetime experiences happening all the time, so it’s a real treat.
Talk about Wes and Cameron (Vinessa Vidotto) because they have a history—he trained her—and now he’s her boss, and she’s second-in-command, so she’s moving up.
Oh, I didn’t know there was a hierarchy. I didn’t know she’s second-in-command.
She was with Scott (Luke Kleintank) at the end of last season.
That makes sense. No one told me. She kind of keeps him in line. It’s nice that she kind of respects how hard he was on her in the backstory of it, that he kind of beat her up to build her up and she respects that she’s the agent that she is now because of some of that tutelage. And so that’s nice going forward because he respects her and if she tells him he is out of line or he’s going too far or something, then he listens and he trusts her, which is a nice dynamic.
Is she the one that he’s closest to, or is it going to be someone else as he gets to know the team?
I think because they have a history, they obviously start off like that and that kind of remains through at least what we’re filming now. But he is making relationships with everybody and having different dynamics with the team. There’s a friendship with Raines [Carter Redwood] and there’s this interesting back and forth kind of—what’s the word I’m looking for? He and Smitty always kind of ruffle each other’s feathers. And he puts Tate [Christina Wolfe] in the field in an episode and she goes undercover and he kind of trusts her to elevate herself as a field agent. And so there’s a lot of nice dynamics to play out.
So is he clashing with Smitty the most in the episodes you filmed so far?
Clashing wise? Yeah. Vo is the one that kind of puts him back in line sometimes, but I’d say most of the bumpiness comes from he and Smitty.
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How much is he going to be getting into the action of it?
A lot of it. A lot of it. My knees hurt, my shoulder hurts. A lot of action.
What’s been your favorite action scene to film so far?
We did a really fun foot chase in Portugal that was really cool with a lot of drone footage and the location is beautiful, the setting is gorgeous. That was really fun. And in Episode 2, there’s this great fight with a hitman on a subway train and it took forever. It’s a long fight and it’s an exciting fight. Our stunt coordinator, Ken, did a great job and that will be a treat for the fans.
What was the appeal of this role and the show after being on P.D. for so long? How has that adjustment been? You’re still in the world of Dick Wolf.
You know what, the only adjustment has been the Europe of it. There’s a language barrier. I’m trying to learn Hungarian on set so I can get all the set lingo.
How’s that going?
It’s going great. Actually, I’m picking up a lot and I kind of can tell what the first A.D. and the second A.D. are talking about now. So that’s been really interesting
and a real treat. But the adjustment has been—like I said before, Halstead had baggage and Wes is a little lighter and more carefree, and so that’s actually been a fun adjustment.
Has that been what’s appealing, that they’re such different characters?
Definitely. And I’m working with Matt [Olmstead] again, who wrote the first five seasons of P.D., who was a showrunner there. So that’s a real treat, getting to work with friends.
What’s been your favorite character-driven or more emotional scene to film so far?
We just did a nice scene the other day with Vinessa, with Cameron Vo, where Wes talks about this case that kind of almost cost him his career and that he’s got some baggage from. She’s kind of his only emotional support system right now. So it’s the first time you really see him open up. He hasn’t really opened up and he starts opening up more and more to her. So that’ll be interesting to see, a more vulnerable side of him.
How is he settling in? How much will we be going home with him?
Yeah, he’s still settling in. There’s lines even recently where he is like he’s finally unpacking. He showed up and he just got right to work and that’s what he’s focused on. So much so that he’s living out of a box. … You go home with him a little bit here and there. It’s teased. Matt does a good job of giving you just enough and you’re like, yeah, I want to see more.
Could we possibly see you directing this season?
No, definitely not. It’s way too much of an undertaking to take on a new character on a show like this and for that character to be in a leadership role and so my priority is making sure that I know all my lines.
Fans love Tank. Are we seeing Tank this season? Are we seeing Wes with Tank?
Yes, we do see Wes with Tank. Tank gives Wes the okay I think in the second episode. He kind of signs off on Wes and is like, this guy’s all right. So hopefully that bodes well for Wes and the fans.
Is Wes looking at his time with the Fly Team as a long-term thing, his next permanent home? Is he just kind of going with the flow?
It’s kind of written that he puts a toe in, puts a foot in, he’s going slow. So I’d say he’s taking it one day at a time. That’s kind of how it feels.
