Chicago Fire interview: Joe Minoso on Cruz’s devastating loss, what’s next

If you are still feeling emotional in the aftermath of Wednesday’s Chicago Fire, that makes sense. We’re reeling from what was, undoubtedly, one of the most emotional and tear-inducing episodes of the year. We lost a beloved character in Otis (Yuriy Sardarov), as well as seeing a powerful, award-worthy performance from Joe Minoso in the process. You’ve seen Joe Cruz laugh, fall in love, save lives, and engage in all sorts of firehouse antics. But you’ve never seen Cruz lose it quite like this. Otis was more than just his colleague — he was his best friend, his family, and the guy he could go to for everything.

Following Wednesday’s episode, we had a chance to chat with Minoso about everything that transpired — and also everything that’s to come going forward. If you put away your tissues after Wednesday’s episode, bring them back out — this was an emotional interview to conduct as we get into breaking down the process of saying goodbye.

CarterMatt – What has been the reaction you’ve seen to the episode the past couple of days?

Joe Minoso – It’s been fascinating watching people’s reactions unfold on social media. There was a lot of speculation from our diehard fans as to who was going to go. We all knew there was going to be a death, and [creator] Derek [Haas] had been pushing that narrative for a while. Frankly, when I read the script, I felt like this was the most justice we’ve done to an exiting character. We truly took the time to honor somebody who’s done so much to the show and such a beloved actor, friend, and coworker. It was great to see that they were going to give the character so much due respect.

I think you see that in how people reacted. I think one of the best things that somebody said on Twitter was something like ‘everyone kneeling down at the end of the episode at the memorial was more moving than any of the slow salutes that they’ve done in years previous.’ That’s sort of right. There was something very quiet and personal and intimate about it. I think it really is a testament and shines so true to the idea of us being a family and how much we lean on each other. It was so beautifully thought-out, with everybody holding on to everybody’s shoulder. That was one of the more moving things that we were able to do.

When did you first find out that this was going to be how the season began?

About ten minutes after Yuriy did. I was the first call he made. I think he wanted to share it with me because of the direction that they were going to drive the story for Cruz and the reality that Yuriy and I are best friends. We mean the world to each other. The two of us would be the most affected by it as characters and friends. That [conversation] was in late May. We found out about a month, a month and a half after we shot the finale.

So now, flash-forward to a month and a half later when you’re there with Yuriy in the hospital. That hospital scene just broke me. What are you tapping into? Is it different from some of what you tap into for your typical firehouse scene?

Yes. 100%. You ask about tapping into something. I think that with everything that I’ve done on this show, the thing I tap into the most is my relationship with these people. I’ve been so fortunate to enjoy the humans I work with. It’s easy to shift the circumstances a little bit and think about ‘what if.’ I think about what if it is the day that the show is over and I have to say goodbye to people I’ve spent the better part of the decade with. I have a pretty sensitive nerve when it comes to crying — I cry for everything. When we were doing that scene, that was the very last scene that Yuriy was doing with us. They saved that scene for Yuriy. Just in the back of my mind, just knowing that this was going to be the last time that Joe Cruz did a scene with Otis, with Brian Zvonecek. That was enough to feed what I thought was necessary. It wasn’t a far cry from that for me to be where I needed to be.

[Director] Reza Tabrizi shot that scene with twenty takes, and each take got more and more exhausting. I know it’s not the take that we ended up using on my side, but the very first time that his face falls over to me [in that scene], I didn’t know he was going to do that. He turned to me and his eyes (voice breaks) — I’m so sorry, I’m having a moment. He was just staring at me. It screwed me up pretty bad. I had to run out of the room.

I … I can’t count my blessings more. Yuriy is my brother. You couldn’t have built a more intimate scene and it was smart of them for it to be the last one. Working off of people like that makes it an easy job.

I’m going to move forward and talk about some other things, but I do want to say that it’s going to be really nice and comforting for people to know that you and Yuriy are so close in real life, just as Cruz and Otis were. It’s a little bit of art imitating life.

I can’t tell you how much of our show is that. Beyond me and Yuriy. Christian [Stolte] and David [Eigenberg] and Eamonn [Walker] just being this stable presence and guiding voice [in their characters] — that’s very true to life. So much of our relationships are moments that we experience together. When you ask about tapping into something, the comedic moments are things that we are just tapping into as absolute idiots on set when the cameras are off. I can’t stress enough how utterly lucky we are to have the cast we do.

How much will this experience change Cruz moving forward? Will what happened linger?

I think like with any death of someone who means something, you’re going to see it come in waves. I think you’ll see moments where he’s trying to move on. There will be a lot of growth in general. I think there was a youthful energy in the “Crotis” romance if you will that permeated throughout all of the season. There’s an adolescent sort of bond. That’s going to be kind of gone for Cruz. He didn’t have that outlet as much. That’s going to mean growing up quite a bit, and perhaps not having access to that kind of juvenile behavior — or, that kind of big brother/little brother relationship. It’s going to be a world filled with colleagues more so with family. That’s going to inform a lot of decisions he makes, especially in the third and fourth episode. There are some pretty big swings for Cruz in what he does with his life.

I think you will also see Otis and what he meant to him and how he navigates the loss of Otis — I think you’re going to see the loss of that this whole season in a variety of ways. The writers are very in tune to what this loss means to not just Cruz, but the entire firehouse. They’re being very conscientious of that in all the upcoming episodes.

Cruz did manage to find some love last year, which is nice given how unlucky he’s been with it. Where are things now?

Chloe, played by Kristen Gutoskie, is unbelievable to work with. I think that the characters really fit. Things are great with him and Chloe. I wouldn’t be surprised if that means him trying to make some big decisions along the way involving Chloe. I’d definitely look out for that — there’s a lot of growth and a lot of changes. As of right now, the stable force in Cruz’s life is Chloe.

Before we wrap, I know you got a chance to do an arc on Get Shorty this summer, which I’m guessing you got to do before Fire started shooting.

There was a small pocket in the hiatus [before filming] that just so happened to fit their shooting schedule. As a matter of fact, I was shooting a very different look for Get Shorty (laughs) a day before shooting on Chicago Fire. That’s how tight the calendar was, but we managed to fit it all in. It was a total blast, I got to go up to Vancouver to work with everybody over there. It was nice to be cast for something that was so completely different from what you’ve been doing for seven years straight. That’s comforting as an actor.

I don’t even know when the episodes are going to be airing, but it was a blast and with any luck, I’ll get a chance to revisit when we’re done here on [Chicago Fire] season 8.

What did you think about this Chicago Fire episode, and saying goodbye to Otis? Be sure to share in the comments.