FBI: International’s Jay Hayden Says Tyler Clashes With Wes in Debut

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

Hayden, 37, exclusively dished to Us Weekly 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 may not be on the level,” he said of Tyler and Wes’ dynamic, noting that they will be reunited during the Tuesday, December 10, episode 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 best friends still? I dunno. Do they do things the same way? Definitely not,” Hayden laughed, previewing what fans will see between Tyler and Wes upon his arrival. “It’ll be a clashing of personalities.”

Throughout season 4, viewers have learned bits and pieces about Wes, who became the Supervisory Special Agent in charge overseas after Scott Forrester (Luke Kleintank) left during the season 3 finale. When Tyler shows up in Budapest, Wes’ past will become a little bit clearer.

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

When Tyler — who is currently part of the FBI’s Charleston, South Carolina, office — gets to Budapest, where Wes is headquartered, it becomes clear that Wes owes him for the incident they both were part of in the past. While Wes will bend a few rules for Tyler, he also tries to reign him in and push his career forward.

“Tyler is finally coming to the point where he has a chance to get to that next level [at work]. But he’s gotta catch this guy, a guy that is leading to a lot of deaths of law enforcement officials,” Hayden said of Tyler’s debut. “So the person that he knows can help him, one of the best case agents he knows, is now GS 14 of the fly team [so] enter this relationship.”

The actor noted it’s an “intense case” that pushes Tyler and Wes’ friendship to the brink. “They do not see eye to eye. They do not catch criminals the same way,” Hayden said. “And the rest of the fly team definitely also has a problem with the way Tyler does things.”

The Station 19 alum added, “Obviously, Wes has been coloring outside of the lines a little bit, but now it makes it worse when you have someone that’s like, ‘Yeah, yeah, so let’s do this way outside the lines.’ And he’s like, ‘No, no man. I’m not, I don’t know. No.’ And so it’s [a] great dynamic.”

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

Hayden told Us that fans will see him in four episodes of FBI: International “currently,” hinting that his arc could expand. While his character butts heads with Wes and company, Hayden couldn’t be happier about the prospect of working with Soffer, 40, even more closely in the new year.

“I’m not sure who threw my hat into the ring,” he said of how he landed the role, noting that he has been friends with Soffer for years. “Working with a friend is — that’s a gift we most of us never get as actors. You don’t get to work with your actual friends, you become friends with the people you work with. But you don’t get to show up on day one and be like, ‘This’s one of my best friends of 16 years.’ So it’s awesome.”

Hayden joked that he and Soffer got into shenanigans that are not “appropriate for an interview” while teaming up in Europe.

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

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