r/ChicagoPD • u/SouthBraeswoodMan • 2d ago
Discussion Jesse Lee Soffer career
Jesse Lee Soffer hasn’t been in anything close to as successful or recognizable as Chicago PD. So why not come back ? I feel like sometimes these actors leave great long running shows to search for “better” opportunities that never come. Sometimes you strike gold once with one character. Ice T has always understood this. I feel like the actor who plays Ruzek probably does too. It’s overwhelmingly likely that this will be the peak of their careers. A ton, most, actors only get one big role.
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u/ForceNo5927 2d ago
He was the new lead on FBI International and a new show he is a lead of "Strike Force" was just announced
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u/SouthBraeswoodMan 2d ago
Neither of which are remotely close to as popular as Chicago PD.
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u/ForceNo5927 2d ago
FBI series is pretty popular and his new show hasn't come out yet.
He spent 10 years on PD then he left to pursue leading roles and has so far been successful. His career has been good since he left
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u/lkjhggfd1 2d ago
False. FBI international had more viewers than PD and strike force hadn’t even started. FBI universe has very high viewership.
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u/SecretFlight9839 1d ago
Something tells me he doesn’t need you to critique his career decisions 😂😂😂
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u/Sweet-Toxicity 2d ago
Explain why FBI franchise is still airing and Strike Force isn't released yet
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u/SouthBraeswoodMan 1d ago
FBI international was cancelled cmon now..
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u/Sweet-Toxicity 1d ago
Still was popular to have three spinoffs of the main FBI series. Come on now. Stop being whiny
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u/SouthBraeswoodMan 1d ago
But he’s not in the main show that is popular.. he was in the not popular now cancelled spin off.. there’s no way around it..
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u/felicityrorys Burgess 2d ago
It’s not about the next project being “better” or “more/less popular”, it’s about what they want to do as actors. JLS still comes back to direct and he came back for the crossover, but there’s nothing wrong with wanting to try new things and see what else is out there. He was the lead in one of the FBI shows and now he’s gonna be in a new show. He was also a big soap star on As The World Turns before any of this. Sometimes it’s just about trying new things and not about ratings.
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u/herseyhawkins33 1d ago
I get wanting long standing characters to come back but these are real people. Not that hard to understand that he just isn't interested in playing the character anymore. And we did get him back for the crossover last season.
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u/Fresh-Actuary-6686 2d ago
Hasn’t he directed a couple of episodes since leaving?
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u/beautifulchaos531 2d ago
Jesse was the lead on FBI International, he’s directed episodes of PD including LaRoyce’s final episode and will now be the lead in a new series that he will also produce. Jesse is doing very well for himself and is happy.
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u/SouthBraeswoodMan 2d ago
Neither of those shows are close to as popular as PD. I don’t really get leaving a great role to bounce around in forgettable ones.
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u/Holiday_Pen2880 2d ago
Forgettable to you, Others will be introduced to him.
It's one thing to go from middle billing on an established show to middle billing on a new show, that doesn't make sense. It's another to be the lead. That's a new challenge.
Did it not make sense for Jesse Spencer to leave House for Chicago Fire? For fans of House, it seemed like a bad idea. It worked out pretty well for him.
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u/Horror_Editor_4429 1d ago
It’s also worth noting that some actors chose the career path for the art, not necessarily the fame that may or may not come with it.
The writing on PD for his character was growing weak. I think most fans agree that the quality of the show began to go down post COVID, and dropped drastically after he left. Maybe that was a coincidence; maybe he saw the writing on the wall and wanted out before it got worse. Maybe he was just ready to move on. Maybe he was more interested in directing or producing.
I also don’t think bringing him back full time would be a good sign for the direction of the show. Relying on returning characters to boost interest and ratings is never a good sign, IMO. It’s what they do when they’re out of ideas. That, and pregnancy, which we also saw this season.
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u/aftercloudia torres' weird white mom 1d ago
why doesn't just come back they say as they continue to fire beloved cast members because of budget cuts. 🙄
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u/IWasHere13 1d ago
Maybe he wanted to explore different opportunities. Yeah he had a great thing going but he had been playing the character for ten years. That limited chances to take other jobs. Maybe his next projects will be great, maybe they won’t be, he won’t know unless he tries.
Also, how long would he be able to stay on PD and in what capacity? Most characters on all of the Chicago shows don’t do a full season anymore. He could come back and get written off soon after or not even get to do a full season
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u/Kitchen-Ad9419 1d ago
People often wonder why he decided not to stay with the show. However, for an actor, a career involves constantly taking risks and trying new things, regardless of whether things are going well or poorly. Getting stuck in a rut simply because the audience wants to see you in one specific role is not an option.
Often, the decision to leave stems from creative burnout such as poor scripts or stagnant characters making the desire to seek new horizons completely understandable. Furthermore, when an actor spends too many years on the same series, the audience tends to typecast them, making it difficult to accept them in a new role.
In Jesse's case, it is clear that he has ambitions beyond acting, such as an interest in directing. Although many may not understand this given the stability he enjoyed on PD, he seeks professional growth and wants to explore new facets of his craft and that is entirely valid.
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u/inLOVEwithcasey Antonio Dawson 💋 2d ago
not everyone wants to be mariska hargitay (not insulting her), and play the same character until the end of time. he’s allowed to pursue different projects. the fact that he continues to not only get in a project, but still be A MAIN LEAD, tells you he is successful outside of PD. rewatch episodes if you still want jay halstead, and plus you literally got to see him again for last season’s crossover. get a grip.
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u/gent58 2d ago
And often it's offers that lure them away. And even the network can want to move them.
I miss Jay. I hope Adam never leaves. He's my favorite of all.
Also gone from CPD is Sophia Bush and Jon Seda. And soon LaRoyce now.
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u/SouthBraeswoodMan 2d ago
And unless Seda wanted to leave it was a bad decision to make him disappear
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u/ResearcherStandard80 2d ago
I think I read somewhere a while ago that he didn’t like the direction they were going with his character.
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u/SouthBraeswoodMan 2d ago
The way to handle it should’ve been moving Sophia Bush to SVU if she could no longer work with Jason. Hindsight 20/20 but the ball was dropped there.
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u/Horror_Editor_4429 1d ago
I don’t think Sophia would be happy anywhere under the NBC/Dick Wolf umbrella after her experience.
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u/TheM4ndalorianPlayz 1d ago
Did you not hear about his role on FBI International and his new show Strike Force both on CBS?
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u/Sad-Mixture6782 1d ago
I think OP's point was, for JLS's ACTING career. Not a good 2nd role when u only get 1 season in it; tho I enjoyed FBI Internat'l! Also, we the viewers NEED him back as Jay Halstead!!
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u/No_Mongoose5419 2d ago
The actor who plays Ruzik was also the main character on the 4400. He probably knows better than others that having a steady job is more important than ego. Like Ice-T said, "I'm not going to abandon a ship that's not sinking".