Jesse Spencer adds heat to CHICAGO FIRE

The actor talks cliffhangers and what he'd like to see in Season 2

On NBC’s CHICAGO FIRE, currently running Wednesdays at 10 PM and just picked up for a second season, Jesse Spencer plays Windy City firefighter Matthew Casey. Casey has a lot going on at all times, what with a romantic quadrangle going on, his desire for revenge against a local criminal organization and of course literally putting out fires.

Viewers of CHICAGO FIRE and Spencer’s previous U.S. series, HOUSE, where he played Dr. Robert Chase for eight years, would never know the actor hails from Australia. He does a terrific American accent when portraying American characters, but when talking about his work at a press event thrown by NBC at Pasadena’s Langham hotel, Spencer’s deep Australian tones ring clear and true.

ASSIGNMENT X: When you were first on CHICAGO FIRE, was there any thought of letting you use your real accent?

JESSE SPENCER: No. There is that exchange program that they [the Australian and U.S. fire departments] do, but that’s specifically with bush fires in California and Australia. So they have an exchange program, but not Chicago.

AX: What is something that you’re just really excited for fans to see?

SPENCER: [Casey’s] girlfriend comes back. His ex-flame comes back and rekindles his relationship and then – I wish I could be more specific but I can’t, but basically, he takes a crazy turn and there’s a roller-coaster ride and Casey goes on the revenge trail, which turns into these massive action sequences. There’s so much going on, and him being paired with [police detective] Voight [played by Jason Beghe] in this unlikely team – there are a lot of gray areas in it, and there’s a lot of action, and they’re going to finish out the season more or less with cliffhangers and giving each person an arc and a storyline which is going to resolve something or leave it hanging for the next season.

AX: How did you feel when you first read in the script that Casey is out for vengeance?

SPENCER: To be honest, I was excited about it. I love the physical stuff. I think that’s what the show has offered me that I didn’t get in HOUSE at all – it was so cerebral for eight years that it was good to chase someone down. It’s great – I’m really enjoying the physicality of it. I mean, it’s nothing without the character element, but I think they play to both really well. But obviously, in a show like this, toward the end of the first season, it’s going to be a high-octane finish for sure.

Read full interview / Gesamtes Interview lesen 

Will add a German translation soon!!