Which is a big deal considering he started acting when he was 6 and has not stopped since. Before he turned 30 Soffer had more than 500 episodes of As the World Turns and three Emmy nominations under his belt not to mention his memorable role as Bobby Brady in the Brady Bunch movies.
Then, in 2013 Soffer began his relationship with Dick Wolf. Soffers character, Jay Halstead, was introduced on Wolfs Chicago Fire” (the first Law & Order SVU spinoff that would go on to launch the franchise and then became one of the leads on Chicago P.D. when it debuted the following year. Soffer appeared on 189 episodes every hour of Seasons 1 through 9 and the first three of 10. The shows 200th episode airs on Feb. 22.So to Soffer, 38, the cast and crew are as close to him as the nose on his face. Which is what made his talk with the producers at the end of Season 9 extra difficult: He felt it was time to leave the show. Publicly he did not share the reasons for his exit. I have thought so hard about how to answer this question and theres no good answer he says. Except I was ready for more.
Maybe it had to do with the fact that filming a 22 episode procedural in Chicago made it hard to have time for anything else including playing a new role. Eventually you know the character so well theres not much that can shift or transform says Soffer adding that he was extremely grateful for the Season 9 storyline showrunner Gwen Sigan gave him Jay stepping into the No. 2 role in the unit and getting married which allowed him to take the character on a new adventure for the first time in years. Still he yearned for more freedom.
I really wanted to grow and expand and we have 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? Its time to take a risk he says. It was one of the toughest decisions I have ever had to make in my life. Lets 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.
Soffer agreed, upon his departure, to return for the start of Season 10. He last appeared on the third episode of the season, which aired in October. To exit him from the NBC show, the writers sent Jay to Bolivia on a task with the Army to take down the cartel. In that process, he left his wife, Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos), behind. Despite promising her that they would get through it, she’s since been informed — via a phone call from his boss — that he’s extended his trip.“Chicago P.D.” viewers are very vocal on social media. And Soffer is well aware of that. In fact, he sees the tweets pop up on his feed every day.
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. “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.”
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