FBI: International’s Jay Hayden says Tyler clashed with Wes in his debut

Jay Hayden joined FBI: International for a four-episode arc and his character, Tyler Booth, is ready to make waves and ruffle a few feathers.

Hayden, 37, served exclusively as Us every week about his character’s “checkered past”, teasing that Tyler is the “ex-partner” of Fly Team leader Wes Mitchell (Jesse Lee Soffer).

“They’ve done some good things (together) that maybe aren’t up to par,” he said of Tyler and Wes’ dynamic, noting that they will be reunited on the episode. Tuesday, December 10 when Tyler travels to Budapest to track down a fugitive on the FBI’s most wanted list and asks Wes’ team for help.

“Are they still best friends?” I don’t know. Do they do things the same way? Definitely not,” Hayden laughed, giving a preview of what fans will see between Tyler and Wes when he arrives. “It will be a clash of personalities.”

Throughout Season 4, viewers learned bits and pieces of information about Wes, who became the surveillance special agent in charge overseas after Scott Forrester (Luc Kleintank) left during the season 3 finale. When Tyler arrives in Budapest, Wes’ past will become a little clearer.

“At one point, Wes and Tyler were the same. They were case officers together, partners together,” Hayden explained. “One career went one way, the other went the other for a circumstance they were both involved in.”

When Tyler – currently with the FBI office in Charleston, South Carolina – arrives in Budapest, where Wes’s headquarters are located, it becomes clear that Wes owes him for the incident they both participated in in the past . Although Wes bends a few rules for Tyler, he also tries to rein him in and advance his career.

“Tyler is finally getting to the point where he has a chance to reach the next level (at work). But he has to catch this guy, a guy who leads to the deaths of a lot of law enforcement officials,” Hayden said of Tyler’s debut. “So the person he knows can help him, one of the best agents he knows, is now the GS 14 of the fly team (so) to get into that relationship.”

The actor noted that it was an “intense affair” that pushed Tyler and Wes’ friendship to the brink. “They don’t agree. They don’t catch criminals the same way,” Hayden said. “And the rest of the flight team definitely has a problem too with the way Tyler does things.”

THE Station 19 one alum added: “Obviously Wes colored outside the lines a little bit, but now it makes it worse when you have someone saying, ‘Yeah, yeah, so let’s do this outside the lines.’ ‘ And he says, ‘No, no, man. I’m not, I don’t know.’ And so it’s (a) big dynamic.

Outside of Tyler and Wes’ relationship, Hayden shared Tyler’s dynamic with Megan “Smitty” Garretson (Eva-Jane Willis) is “one to watch,” revealing: “(It’s) really fun and these waves end up crashing into each other. »

Hayden said We that fans will see him in four episodes of FBI: International “currently,” hinting that his arc could expand. As his character clashes with Wes and company, Hayden couldn’t be happier at the prospect of working even more closely with Soffer, 40, in the new year.

“I don’t know who threw my hat in the ring,” he said of how he landed the role, noting that he had been friends with Soffer for years. “Working with a friend is a gift that most of us never have as actors. You don’t work with your real friends, you become friends with the people you work with. But you can’t show up on day one and say, “He’s been one of my best friends for 16 years.” » So it’s great.

Hayden joked that he and Soffer got into some shenanigans that aren’t “interview appropriate” while teaming up in Europe.

“We couldn’t stop laughing on set. It’s so awesome. It was so much fun,” he recalls. “Like you go visit your buddy in Budapest and go to work and say, ‘Yeah, here’s your fake gun and let’s go catch the bad guys together.’ I was like, “This is great. »

FBI: International airs on CBS Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.