Jay Hayden joins FBI: International For a four-episode arc his character, Tyler Booth, is set to make waves and ruffle some feathers.
Hayden, 37, exclusively told Us Weekly About his character's “checkered past”, noting that Tyler is the “former partner” of flight team leader Wes Mitchell (Jessie Lee Soffer).
“They've done some good things (together) that might not be up to par,” he said of Tyler and Wes's dynamic, noting that they will be reunited during the Tuesday, December 10, episode, when Tyler travels to Budapest to track him down. Down a fugitive on the FBI's most wanted list and asks Wes team to help.
“Are they still best friends? I don’t know. Do they do things the same way?” Hayden laughed. “Absolutely not,” Hayden laughed as he previewed what fans will see between Tyler and Wes when he arrives. “There will be a clash of personalities.”
Throughout Season 4, viewers learned Bits and pieces about Weswho became the supervising special agent in charge overseas after Scott Forrester (Luke Kleintank) left during the end of season three. When Tyler shows up in Budapest, Wes's past will become clearer.
“At some point, Wes and Tyler were one and the same. They were case agents together, partners together,” Hayden explained. “One career went one way, and the other career went the other way because of some circumstances they were involved in.”
When Tyler – currently part of the FBI office in Charleston, South Carolina – arrives in Budapest, where Wes's company is headquartered, it becomes clear that Wes owes him a debt for the incident they were both part of in the past. While Wes will be subject to some rules for Tyler, he is also trying to control him and move his career forward.
“Tyler has finally gotten to the point where he has a chance to get to the next level (in the business). But he has to catch this guy, the guy who is leading to the deaths of a lot of law enforcement,” Hayden said of Tyler's debut. “The person he knows can help him, he's one of the best case agents he knows, and he's now GS 14 of the aviation team (so) he's getting into that relationship.”
The actor noted that it is an “intense affair” that pushes Tyler and Wes's friendship to the brink. “They don't see eye to eye. “They don't catch criminals the same way,” Hayden said. “And the rest of the flight team certainly also has a problem with the way Tyler does things.”
the Station 19 alum He added: “Obviously Wes used to color outside the lines a little bit, but now it's worse when you have someone saying, 'Yeah, yeah, so let's do it this way outside the lines.' And he's like, 'No, no, man.' 'I'm not, I don't know.' And so it's (a) a wonderful dynamic.
Outside of Tyler and Wes's relationship, Hayden shared Tyler's dynamic with Megan “Smitty” Garretson (Eva Jane Willis) is “one to keep track of,” revealing, “(It's) really fun and those waves end up crashing into each other.”
Hayden said we Fans will see him in four episodes FBI: International “Right now,” indicating that his arc could expand. While his personality clashes with Wes and company, Hayden couldn't be happier about the prospect of working with Sofer, 40, more closely in the new year.
“I'm not sure who threw my hat in the ring,” he said of how he got the role, noting that he had been friends with Soffer for years. “Working with a friend is a gift that most of us never get as actors. You don't get to work with your actual friends, you become friends with the people you work with. But you can't show up on day one and say, 'This is one of my best friends for 16 years.' So “He is wonderful.”
Hayden joked that he and Sofer fell into “unsuitable for an interview” shenanigans while teaming up in Europe.
“We couldn't stop laughing on set. It's such a blast. It was so much fun. “Like you go visit your friend in Budapest and you go to work and say: 'Yes, and this is your fake gun, and let's go catch bad guys together.' I was like, “This is cool.”
FBI: International It airs on CBS every Tuesday at 9pm ET.