Rome Flynn Speaks Out on His ‘Chicago Fire’ Unexpected Departure: “I’m Sad to See Gibson Leave”
Rome Flynn is opening up about his unexpected departure from “Chicago Fire.” In an exclusive statement to Variety, Flynn reacted to leaving the NBC drama after just a few episodes.
“Like all the fans, I’m sad to see Gibson leave. He was a character I loved playing,” Flynn said. “I had a great time on ‘Chicago Fire’ and have great respect for the cast and crew, and look forward to working with Dick Wolf again when the time is right.”
Flynn joined the procedural at the beginning of Season 12 as Jake Gibson and appeared in six episodes. In the March 27 episode, he revealed that he was struggling with prescription drug addiction and decided to leave to get help.
Ahead of the new season, showrunner Andrea Newman shared her excitement about his casting in an interview with Variety.
“He’s incredible. He’s a powerful presence and a very different energy than a lot of our guys at 51. He’s going to shake things up,” Newman said at the time. “There are so many layers to Gibson as a character. He’s going to be a fun new element to shake up 51 a little bit.”
The departure is the third episode 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 the sixth episode after playing Sylvie Brett for 199 episodes.
“Chicago Fire” is produced by Universal Television and Wolf Entertainment.
