Joe Miñoso is breaking down whether he’s fought his last fire as Joe Cruz on Chicago Fire following his season 15 exit.
Miñoso, 48, exclusively told Us on Monday, November 2, that his goodbye on the NBC series left the door open “more than a crack” for him to return as Cruz somewhere down the line.
“[Showrunner] Victor [Teran] has spoken about it, and I proudly would return in any capacity if I can be of service to the show,” the actor revealed. “It’s my absolute pleasure.”
Miñoso, who played firefighter Cruz and member of Firehouse 51 for 14 seasons — and five episodes of season 15, confirmed, “I think the door remains fully open, and I look forward to the potential of that happening as soon as possible and as many times as possible.”
Warning: Spoilers below from season 15, episode 5 of Chicago Fire.
During the Wednesday, November 4, episode of Chicago Fire, which marked the 300th episode of the hit series, Cruz was finally on the mend and walking again after injuring his spine during a warehouse fire to start the season.
After his wife, Chloe (Kristen Lee Gutoskie), gave birth to their twin daughters, Cruz realized that his family, which also includes two sons, were not ready for him to return to duty. That meant Cruz giving up one family — his Firehouse 51 crew — for another.
“They need me more,” Cruz told Captain Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) of his family after he revealed he would not be coming back to the CFP or Squad 3.
Joe Miñoso during his ‘Chicago Fire’ farewell episode. Peter Gordon/NBC
Cruz added that he planned to move to Minnesota to go to a rehab facility so he could get better even faster. The bonus: it is close to his wife’s family, so she will have an extra set of hands with the babies.
“The conflict here is letting go of one family for another, instead of being able to have both, it’s a real, like, ‘You can’t have your cake and eat it, too,’ moment in Cruz’s life,” Miñoso told Us. “But I really respect the fact that he’s just so loyal that he’s prepared to give up the thing he feels at home in for the sake of the people that love him the most.”
Like Miñoso, Teran hinted that Cruz’s time within the Chicago Fire family is not over just because he’s no longer a series regular.
“We’re not done telling stories about Joe Cruz for sure,” the showrunner exclusively told Us last month. “So I don’t know exactly when we’ll come back, but he’ll come back eventually.”
For now, fans will have to settle for Miñoso returning to set as a director, which he will do later this season — but the story line and air date has not been revealed.
“I was told pretty quickly after the departure that I would have an opportunity to direct, and then I immediately dove into shadowing every director that came through for the first five episodes,” Miñoso shared with Us. “So I was there more often than I have been in the last 15 years because it was like day in, day out, like, top to bottom every day.”
He joked, “I don’t know that I prepared to leave. I think I prepared to figure out how to transition to stay.”
In addition to being part of the mix as a director, Miñoso said he took a few mementos from his time on Chicago Fire, including the Slamigan, a tool Cruz created.
“I have my chair in the green room, and my helmet,” he said. “More than anything, I take the memories and the friendships and the family.”
Chicago Fire airs on NBC Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
