Chicago Fire’s Joe Miñoso opened up about the emotional toll of leaving the show after 15 seasons. The actor shared his thoughts on Cruz’s farewell, his future behind the camera, and a powerful final scene with Taylor Kinney.
Joe Miñoso on the ‘grief’ of his exit as Cruz on Chicago Fire
Joe Miñoso makes his final appearance as firefighter Joe Cruz in Chicago Fire’s milestone 300th episode, airing Wednesday, Nov. 4 on NBC. Initially, the actor started as a recurring guest star when the show premiered in 2012. He eventually earned a promotion to series regular in Season 2 and spent 15 seasons at Firehouse 51.
Miñoso described the weight of leaving the role. “It’s 15 years of a life that I’ve lived inside of someone’s skin,” he told USA TODAY. “There’s no way that there isn’t going to be some level of grief.”
Cruz’s exit arc began in the Season 14 finale. A devastating warehouse fire left the character with a spinal injury. Subsequently, Miñoso learned about his departure on his final day of filming that season. He sat in a producer’s office and stared at the cast photos on the wall. “I just kept staring at my photo and going, like, wow, that won’t be there much longer,” he recalled.
However, within an hour, producers offered him a directing role on the show. Miñoso called the opportunity a “timely, appropriate evolution.” He expects to direct his first episode later this season. Meanwhile, in a separate interview with TV Insider, Miñoso shared his pride in Cruz’s journey. “When we first met Joe Cruz, he was kind of aimless,” he said. The character ultimately grew into “a leader, a potential lieutenant, a father.”
The 300th episode also features an emotional farewell scene between Cruz and Chief Kelly Severide, played by Taylor Kinney. Miñoso called it “easily the single most memorable emotional scene” he ever filmed with Kinney. Notably, their characters rarely shared intimate moments, making the goodbye particularly powerful.
