Chicago Fire said goodbye to Joe Cruz, but actor Joe Miñoso also revealed he didn’t choose to leave the show.
The November 4 episode (Three Hundred) highlighted the big exit from Firehouse 51.
Luckily, Cruz got a nice sendoff, and the writers didn’t just kill off the character.
This leaves the door open for Cruz to pop up in future episodes, much like Matthew Casey has done before.
Joe Miñoso revealed he didn’t choose to leave Chicago Fire
A new interview sheds more light on Joe Miñoso’s exit. The long-time Chicago Fire cast member revealed something that may disappoint many fans.
When asked whether he went to producers about leaving or if the producers told him that’s where the story was going, Miñoso got honest. He revealed it was a production decision.
“But I will say, at the same time, there was something in me that felt it was time to move on. We had done so much with the character,” he admitted to TV Line.
“I remember thinking about it a lot midseason [during Season 14], just because we had explored so much. And when we got the twins storyline, I was like, ‘This feels like the right time.’ So the news came my way, but I understood it, and they were so gracious. And literally on the heels of that, I got asked if I was interested in still directing [episodes of the show], so it was real whiplash. And since then, it’s been a journey into the world of this show in a really different way,” he elaborated.
The good news was that the character got a proper sendoff. Cruz got a multi-episode arc to wrap up storylines. This limited the shock of losing him during Chicago Fire Season 15, Episode 5.
When asked about how he viewed his final episode, Joe Miñoso was particularly positive.
“I loved it. In general, it was such a wonderful process working with Victor [Teran]. As soon as he took on the mantle of showrunner, he reached out to me and was very open about wanting to talk about our ideas for the show. They even took a couple of my ideas, which I’m incredibly grateful for. But I thought it was wonderful,” he told TV Line.
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