Jesse Lee Soffer Explains Why He Left 'Chicago P.D.'

Jesse Lee Soffer is addressing his Chicago P.D. exit.

The 38-year-old star, who appeared on 189 episodes of the show, is set to leave the hit series, and he opened up in a new interview about his decision.

“I’ve thought so hard about how to answer this question — and there’s no good answer,” he told Variety.

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“Except I was ready for more.”

“Eventually, you know the character so well, there’s not much that can shift or transform,” he continued.

“I really wanted to grow and expand, and we’ve only got this one trip. If I signed up again, it would have been for another three years. I would have turned 40 on the show. I thought, ‘You know what? It’s time to take a risk.’ It was one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to make in my life. Let’s be honest: I love the fans of our show so much, and I love my fans. I know that they’re still grieving this, and to some degree, I am too.”

He last appeared on the third episode of Season 10, which aired in October.

“I know the fans are upset be­cause, like, ‘This isn’t the Jay that we know and love! Why isn’t he calling? Why is he doing this?!’ But, you know, the show must go on,” he explains of fan reactions to his exit on the show.

“I don’t think I really have the right to feel any way about that. The writers have to do what they have to do to service the story and the characters that are still there. Also, our show’s pretty dark, and they love diving into the ugliest, hardest version of life. So for Hailey to have to go through this, it probably just made sense.”

“He’s deeply flawed, because everybody on Chicago P.D. is. But he’s definitely a good person, with really good motives,” he added of his character.

As for his future on the show, and whether the door is closed, he said: “Definitely not. Never say never. I feel so bad for the fans that are like, ‘Is he going to come back?’ ‘What’s he going to do?’ ‘What’s going on with him and Hailey?’

“I like to think — and I hope the fans think this too — that he’s just in another country right now, doing what he does best and making the world a safer place. In a family, sometimes somebody moves away or goes to college somewhere else. I still love it. I still love the fans. And I still love Halstead. Halstead’s always going to be in my blood. That’s never going to change,” he continued.

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