Rome Flynn is opening up about his surprise exit from “Chicago Fire.”
In an exclusive statement to Variety, Flynn reveals it was not his decision to walk away from the NBC drama.
“Just like all the fans, I was sad to see Gibson leave. He was a character I very much enjoyed playing,” Flynn said. “I had a wonderful experience during my time on ‘Chicago Fire’ and have great respect for the cast and crew and hope to team up with Dick Wolf again when the time is right.”
Flynn joined procedural at the beginning of Season 12 as Jake Gibson and appeared in six episodes. During the March 27 episode, it was revealed he was struggling with a prescription pill addiction and decided to leave to get help.
Christian Stolte as Randy “Mouch” McHolland, Miranda Rae Mayo as Stella Kidd, Rome Flynn as Gibson and Jake Lockett as Sam Carver
Adrian S Burrows Sr/NBC
Ahead of the new season, showrunner Andrea Newman shared her excitement over his casting during an interview with Variety.
“He’s phenomenal. He’s an electric presence and a very different energy than a lot of our guys at 51. He’ll be shaking things up,” Newman said at the time. “As a character, there are a lot of layers to peel back on Gibson. He’ll be a fun new element to rock 51 a little bit.”
The exit is the third of the season; Alberto Rosende, who played Blake Gallo for 80 episodes, left after the season premiere; and Kara Killmer made her final appearance in episode six after portraying Sylvie Brett for 199 episodes.
“Chicago Fire” is produced by Universal Television and Wolf Entertainment.