‘Chicago P.D.’: Jason Beghe Said Jesse Lee Soffer’s Directorial Debut Was ‘Effing Spectacular’
When Jesse Lee Soffer left Chicago P.D. he was ready to take on new challenges. One of those experiences was directing an episode of the show he’d been a part of until recently. It was his first time in the director’s chair, so how did the transition go? According to one of his former castmates, it was pretty impressive.
Making the move from acting to directing
Soffer has been a part of Chicago P.D. since before it was even a series. According to Variety, his character Jay Halstead appeared on Chicago Fire in 2013. When Chicago P.D. debuted the next year, he was one of the lead characters on the new show.
So it wasn’t easy on fans when he left just a few episodes into Season 10. Soffer didn’t explain much about his decision to move on, except to say that he “wanted to grow.”
One of the first steps for Soffer was to return to Chicago P.D.–this time as a director. He’d never stepped into the role before, so it was a challenging change for him. Soffer directed the episode called “Deadlocked.” And the experience turned out to be a little easier in some ways than he’d expected.
How he felt about the experience
Although Soffer acknowledged the challenges of directing, saying that parts of it were both “frustrating” and “humbling,” he also realized that he brought more skills to the job than he realized he would.
“It was easier than I thought it was gonna be, because we’re storytellers in this industry, and I love telling stories,” he said. “When I’d get a script that was a Halstead-centric story, I’d break that sucker down so much, calling the producers with suggestions. I’ve been doing that all along, so it was an easy shift.”
It’s a good thing he took to the new role so well because he didn’t have much time between the end of him acting on the series before his directing work began.
“It was a really kind of seamless transition,” he explained in an interview with TV Insider. “I didn’t really take a break. The second I got done working, I think I maybe went back to LA for three or four days and then went back to set and started shadowing right away. So it’s like I never really left.”
Directing seemed to come naturally to Soffer, but what did his former castmates have to say about his efforts?
Jason Beghe’s thoughts about the episode
One of the stressful parts of Soffer’s directorial debut was that he was working with friends and colleagues who already knew him well. What would they think of him in this new role?
The episode he directed focused on Hank Voight, played by Jason Beghe. When the episode was done, Beghe had some high praise for Soffer.
“In his raspy voice, he was like,” Soffer imitated his voice, “‘Bro, as far as maiden voyages go, this is effing spectacular.'”
You can’t get much better than “effing spectacular” as far as reviews go, so that probably went a long way toward easing any remaining worry Soffer may have had. His transition to director appears to have been pretty successful.
Fans hold out hope that Soffer will turn up again on the popular series, but so far, it doesn’t seem that their hopes will be answered. They may be sorry to see Jay Halstead go, but it seems that Soffer is still making Chicago P.D. even better.
