EXCLUSIVE: Jay Hayden will debut on CBS‘ FBI: International on December 10 at 9 p.m. as U.S.-based agent Tyler Booth, and Deadline has your first look at the Season 4 episode and a Q&A with the actor below.
The episode “Keen as a Bean” follows Tyler after he flips the ex-wife of a criminal on the FBI’s Most Wanted list and enlists the Fly Team to help lure the perp out of Russia. Kyle Steinbach wrote the episode and Brenna Malloy directed it.
As we revealed in September with Hayden’s casting news, Booth is described as an intelligent and charismatic agent who travels to Budapest looking for assistance on a case. The agent he seeks out is Wesley Mitchell, played by Hayden’s good friend Jesse Lee Soffer who joined the cast this season as the show’s new lead. Tyler and Wesley go way back, which makes the adventure even more fun to watch. More on this and what Station 19 memories popped up for Hayden while working on this new show below.
DEADLINE: After watching you on ABC’s Station 19 for so many years, you really pop on FBI: International because Tyler is completely different from Travis Montgomery. What was it like tackling this new character and did you have any muscle memory from your most recent gig?
JAY HAYDEN: I’m not going to lie to you, there were a couple of times on the first few days of filming I would do a bit in the scene, and they would be like, “Cut! Jay, that’s too funny. We can’t be laughing out loud. Also, your character’s supposed to be kind of a jerk. You’re not charming.” And I was like, “Right, yes, okay.” I had to remind myself this is a different genre. Like, in this scene, we’re trying to talk about the case and really get the audience invested in the criminal and the case. So if I’m being funny, it’s distracting and not part of this show. It was a change but a fun one. [Laughs]
DEADLINE: You and Jesse have great chemistry on the show. Would you say your real-life friendship helped your characters develop into these two guys who were different in personality but aligned in their goals?
HAYDEN: I think it’s great because Jesse and I have been friends for a long time and we’re very different guys. We process and think about things differently. We have different points of view on a lot of things. [Similarly,] we play two guys who don’t always have the same point of view on how things should be done in a case, like chasing someone or maybe right from wrong. It was like a perfect melding of who we are personally into these characters.
DEADLINE: In your first episode, you go after a big baddy. What can you share about your big foe?
HAYDEN: His name is Ed Haskins (Will Janowitz) and he’s been on the FBI’s most-wanted list for a long time. Tyler’s been chasing him for a long time and, frustratingly so, hasn’t gotten him. [Haskins] has continued to spread disinformation and release a lot of damaging material and information about people, [which in turn] is getting them killed. Tyler gets a little bit of a break in his case when he finds Ed’s ex-wife and convinces her to help lure him out. Needing a place to trap this guy, Tyler picks a place where he has an old friend, which sets up Tyler vs Wes, or Tyler and Wes. I don’t know, but it feels like every scene is different.
DEADLINE: Not to give too much away here but Tyler’s daughter gets caught up in the case. What can you tease about playing a worried father who will do anything to protect his family?
HAYDEN: This was easy for me because I have a teenage daughter. You’re trying to do the right thing, by the book. Keep it cool, keep it professional. But then as soon as Ed brings Tyler’s daughter into it, and he feels like she’s unsafe, the gloves come completely off. Now, it’s up to Wes to hold him back.
DEADLINE: Not only did you work with a new, established cast on FBI: International but in a whole different country after building a family on Station 19 across 7 seasons. What was that like for you?
HAYDEN: I’m glad that you asked me this question. It was really, really hard. I’m used to seeing Barrett’s [Doss’s] face every single time I walk into work. It’s different because these actors have their way of working, like how they prepare and get into character. Then also, your scene partner. Barrett is family and I know what she’s going to do next before she even does it. I know what she thinks about the thing that I just said. Then suddenly, she wasn’t there anymore and that was a hard adjustment for me. I missed her. Sometimes, she would say something, and I’m like, “I’m just gonna improvise a little line of dialog, Ba Bam,” but Barrett’s not there to hit the ball back. We had an extreme shorthand. It was an adjustment. You know, I really miss them. I miss them very much.
DEADLINE: We didn’t get to chat about the series finale then but Travis and Vic (Doss) being the loves of each other’s lives was the perfect ending for these characters. Was this important to you?
HAYDEN: I don’t know if I told you this story before but when we learned the show was going to end, our showrunners and writers asked us what would be important to us for the conclusions of our stories. I told them it’s up to them in terms of whatever romantic partner Travis would have, or the dad or the mom or whatever. I said, “Since day 1 episode 1, I’ve been playing the love story with [Vic]. She’s his lobster. So, if you could do me right and end that story beautifully, that’s all I want.” They were like, we got you.” My last day of shooting in that airport and doing that scene with Barrett was so beautiful. I’ll never forget it. I’m so thankful we got to do it because not all of us get to end our stories on these shows. Usually, they just end abruptly. So I am so thankful that we got to finish the story.
