Warning: Contains SPOILERS for FBI: International season 4, episode 7.The most recent installment ofFBI: International, titled “Keen as a Bean” aired Tuesday, December 10 and introduced a new character to the Fly Team. Wes' former colleague, Tyler Booth, seeks help with a case involving an ex-cop on America’s “Most Wanted” list. The fugitive’s name is Ed Haskins, and he’s guilty of blackmailing other officers with sensitive, often fake, photos, resulting in several police suicides. Now that Wes has taken on a leadership position, Tyler struggles to respect his authority.
While the characters clash throughout the hour, they are ultimately able to work together and close out the job. Tyler isassigned to the Fly Teamfor 90 days, but Jay Hayden teases that Wes' old partner won’t make things easy on him. Hayden shares his excitement over Tyler and Wes' onscreen dynamic, as it plays into the real-life friendship he’s had withJesse Lee Sofferfor sixteen years. Now that Csonka is returning inFBI: International’sfall finale, there are plenty of opportunities for the characters' new working dynamic to be tested.
How FBI: International’s Returning Villain Will Impact Wes In Season 4 Fall Finale Teased By Jay Hayden: “It Gets More Personal”
Exclusive: Guest star Jay Hayden teases that Booth may be the devil on Wes' shoulder when a villain returns in FBI: International season 4, episode 8.
ScreenRantinterviews Hayden about getting to act alongside Soffer, what to expect throughout Tyler’s time on the series, and if he’d like to return to theStation 19universe throughGrey’s Anatomy.
Tyler Will Make The Fly Team Leader’s Job Harder In FBI: International Season 4
“He’s not doing things the same way that his ex-partner is doing them, and that’s something that he needs to learn.”
ScreenRant: Since you and Jesse Lee Soffer are real-life friends, what excited you most about yourFBI: Internationaldynamic?
Jay Hayden: Honestly, as soon as we started reading the scripts and saw that these two characters give each other a lot of sh*t, I was like, “Oh, thank God. Alright, so we get to play a little bit of our real-life friendship.” And then you just would never think that you got to act with one of your close actual friends. I’ve said this a lot, but Barrett Doss and I are close personal friends now, but we started just working together.
Jesse and I already have sixteen years of friendship, so it was, first of all, so hilarious in our first scene together. I didn’t know what to do. I was like, “This is more eye contact than we’ve made in a decade, man. Super weird.” And we kept on breaking and laughing, but it was really cool and it was really so much fun. And also [it’s having] an actor that speaks your same language. I would ask him, “This moment when I’m saying this, I want to tie that into this,” and he kind of speaks the same actor language that I do, which is really helpful on set.
What was your first impression of Tyler when you got the character description and read the script for 407?
Jay Hayden: I loved it because it was a departure and something very new than what I’ve been playing for almost the last decade, which is a super likable character who everybody loves. Tyler doesn’t totally do things the right way all the time, and his tactics, and the way he feels like maybe bad guys should be caught isn’t quite within the boundaries of the law sometimes.
Some of the other team members are a little suspect of him, and I like that. I like playing the darker version of a character. On Station 19 when Travis walked in the room, everyone would be like, “Yay, all right!” Here, Tyler comes in with an idea and everyone’s like, “That’s a horrible idea, man. Who is this guy?” And I like playing that. I like being the guy that not everybody trusts.
There are a lot of differences between Tyler and Wes. Your character is much harder on Kelsey. Do you think it’s because he has that darker, less trusting side?
Jay Hayden: Yeah, he has probably less patience for the law. He has less of like what makes Wes such a great leader and what has made him GS-14. There’s a reason that Tyler isn’t yet, right? He’s not doing things the same way that his ex-partner is doing them, and that’s something that he needs to learn. Or will he learn? I don’t know, but we’re going to find out. I think that kind of demeanor and a little bit of that kind of energy from Tyler will keep on showing up in the show, which will, in a fun way, make Wes' job harder.
Tyler Could Have A Negative Influence On Wes In FBI: International’s Fall Finale
“Now he’s got someone in his ear saying, ‘Whatever it takes is whatever it takes. Who cares? No one’s going to know.'”
We find out he’s a dad and see he has a softer side through that. Can you talk about that switch when it goes from being a case to something personal with his daughter involved?
Jay Hayden: What connected me to this character the most is his relationship with his daughter and how much that means to him and how reactive he can be. Because even though Tyler can be a real jerk sometimes and kind of fly off the handle, he’s redeeming to the audience and redeeming to me just because he loves his daughter so much, and he just wants to protect her.
He would do literally anything. So that’s what I love about the character. That’s going to keep on showing up. His daughter—the advice part of her where she parents the parent is something that I really enjoyed playing and something that he needs her to bring to ground him.
The recent episode makes the team wonder if Wes’ friendship with Booth affects his decision-making. What do you think?
Jay Hayden: Yes. I think because they were partners for so long, they were equals for so long, and had each other’s back, and did a lot of stuff back then and were friends—it’s very hard now that the dynamic has changed to change that. They’re still operating as if, even though the titles have changed and the jobs are different. It’s going to keep clashing.
Well, Csonka is coming back in the mid-season finale, and he’s going after Vo…
Jay Hayden: There’s a perfect example. As it gets more personal for Wes, will the counseling from Tyler be positive or maybe lead it to a more negative place? Maybe the devil on his shoulder—that voice gets louder and louder. Now he’s got someone in his ear saying, “Whatever it takes is whatever it takes. Who cares? No one’s going to know.”
You have 90 days on the Fly Team, so what else can you tease about Tyler’s arc?
Jay Hayden: As the cases become much more extreme and intense, Booth’s presence will really, not only test the bad guys, but also test the Fly Team because not everyone on the Fly Team is on board with the way Booth operates, and I’m not quite sure he’s going to completely conform to the way the Avengers do things. [Laughs]
FBI: International Season 4 Will See Tyler Clash With Smitty
“I think you’ll get to watch it play itself out.”
Would you say that there is someone who Tyler clashes with the most?
Jay Hayden: Yes, definitely. And I think you’ll get to watch it play itself out. Smitty and Booth are going to be two waves that crash into each other.
Have you finished filming all your scenes for the show?
Jay Hayden: I am now back in L.A., and I have filmed my portion, for now, of the show.
Do you still have questions about your character that you’re hoping to get answered in the future?
Jay Hayden: I definitely do have some more questions about the character and I think the viewership will also have questions that I am hoping all get answered.
We’re so excited to see you in this new role, but we also loveStation 19and miss Travis.Grey’s Anatomyis still out there…would you ever want to revisit that character again?
Jay Hayden: I will always love that world. I will always love Shonda and Shondaland. They know they can always call me. I’ll always get back there. I really love playing Travis, and I worked really hard at creating that character, and I enjoyed every day of doing it. So that door’s never closed. It’s all just, “When would you like me to show up?”
About CBS' Procedural Drama FBI: International
Created by Derek Haas and Dick Wolf
From Emmy Award winner Dick Wolf, fast-paced dramaFBI: Internationalis the third iteration of the successful FBI brand that follows the elite operatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s International Fly Team. Headquartered in Budapest, they travel throughout Europe with the mission of tracking and neutralizing threats against American citizens wherever they may be, putting their lives on the line to protect the U.S. and its people.
Check out our most recentFBIinterviews below:
FBI: Internationalseason 4 airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS and is available to stream next-day on Paramount+.
FBI: International
FBI: International follows the elite agents of the FBI’s International Fly Team as they travel globally to protect Americans. The series focuses on their complex missions, navigating international law, and challenges posed by various jurisdictions, demonstrating the high-stakes nature of their work.
