Chicago Fire: why did Peter Mills actor Charlie Barnett leave the show?
Charlie Barnett joined Chicago Fire in 2012. Cast as Peter Mills, an aspiring firefighter and Squad 3 member, the character appeared in seasons 1-3, before being written off in 2015. To the surprise of fans, Peter decided to leave behind his life in Chicago to work alongside his mother and sister at their restaurant in North Carolina.
While the character left on a happy note, his departure in season three had viewers wondering why the actor decided to leave, but as it turns out, it wasn't his decision at all. Keep reading for all the details…
In an interview with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Charlie recalled the moment he learned he was being written off the show, which started as "a normal day of filming".
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"They expressed that it wasn't about me or myself as an actor or my personality," he said. "But they felt that Peter had reached a plateau and the writers didn't know where to take him because he's done so much already."
Chicago Fire boss Matt Olmstead was also asked about Charlie aka Peter's exit. Standing by the decision to write his character out of the show, he told TV Guide: "The hardest part of this job is when you feel it's the right time to make cast changes. It was solely based on bringing in new people for new stories. Otherwise, it turns into a clown car.
"You have affection and admiration for [your cast], so you keep everybody, but it's at the detriment at being objective and making some tough calls in terms of storytelling. So, we wanted to shake things up and bring in a new character and we started discussing the idea ... and here we are. It was an extremely tough decision to make, but we feel good about it."
Reflecting on the experience in 2022, Charlie later told Digital Spy: "[The show] was a behemoth that I never really saw coming. I was thankful to be a part of it. I really was sad to be let go. It broke me for quite a long time."
Remaining positive over the situation, he added: "Yeah. It was a blessing in disguise, and they all told me that. You never really see that in life, in general. You never see the bad moments becoming the good. It wouldn't be. It wouldn't be what it was, I think, if you did recognise it for what it is in the moment. So I'm thankful." Charlie also revealed that he's still in contact with his former co-stars including Yuri Sardarov and David Eigenberg.
Following his departure from Chicago Fire, Charlie has since landed major roles as Ian Porter in Valor, Alan Zaveri on the Netflix series Russian Doll and Eric Payne in Ordinary Joe. As of 2024, the actor is set to appear in The Acolyte, a new series in the Star Wars franchise. While little is known about the project, Charlie has revealed that he's playing a Jedi Knight. Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto and Jodie Turner-Smith are also among the cast.
More Chicago Fire stars that have left the show
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