9-1-1 Cast Member Confirms Exit: ‘I Need to Continue on My Journey’
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Amid Buck and Tommy’s breakup and Tommy’s reveal that he and Buck had both dated the same woman, 9-1-1 fans may have missed another bombshell — that’s the last we’ve seen of Tommy.
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Is Lou Ferrigno Jr. leaving 9-1-1?
Ferrigno Jr. confirmed in an interview with Decider after Tommy and Buck’s breakup in Season 8, Episode 6, “Confessions,” that he was exiting as Tommy following three seasons as the character. The episode saw Tommy and his Buck, who he started dating in Season 7, break up after Buck learned that Tommy was engaged to Buck’s ex-girlfriend, Abby Clark, who Buck dated in Season 1. Though Buck sorted out his feelings around him and Tommy dating the same woman, Tommy eventually ended their relationship after realizing that Buck wasn’t ready to move in together and they weren’t The One for each other.
More: See the 9-1-1 cast salary including who makes he most
“I’d be remiss if I were to say that this has not been one of the true pleasures and true blessings in my life,” Ferrigno Jr. told the Decider about what it meant for him to play an LGBTQ+ character in 9-1-1. “In the span of my career, I’ve tended to play very authoritative, strong characters with strong presences who are not very vulnerable and not very three-dimensional. And Tommy was defined.”
He added later in the interview, “I’ve never intended to play this safe, this career of mine. I wanted to stretch. Based on my life and events that have happened in my life. I feel like I’m, in a sense, on borrowed time. So if I’m going to do it, I’m gonna go full speed ahead. And this is the first time anyone’s really seen me in the light of an actor that can pull this off. I always could. But [creator] Tim [Minear] was the one that actually gave me a shot to do it.”
Ferrigno Jr. hinted to Fangirlish at the time that Tommy’s exit from 9-1-1 wasn’t his decision. “I just would have hoped that it would have lasted a little bit more,” he said. He also confessed to having issues with how Tommy was written out, though he ultimately understood why Tommy and Buck had to break up. “If preserving his emotional health and saving himself is the only means to survive, then you can’t shame him for it,” he said. “I honestly don’t believe that the relationship matured well enough that they should have made any type of long-term decision.”
He also told the site that he’d be open to reprising his role as Tommy in 9-1-1 if there ever was the opportunity to return. “I would absolutely love to come back, but I do need to continue on my journey here. I have a number of things now that are going on that may or may not happen, and I hope that there’s no conflict if it were to be the case,” he said.
He continued, “I’ve never had the type of experience artistically, professionally, as I’ve had with 9-1-1. I love this set. I love this show. I love the higher-ups. I love the crew. It has been so fun.”
As for what’s next, Ferrigno Jr. also confirmed to Fangirlish that he’ll be returning to CBS’ S.W.A.T., in which he plays the recurring character Donovan Rocker. “I’ll be doing S.W.A.T., so I’m back on S.W.A.T., which is a nice reprieve. Two of the biggest shows filmed in Los Angeles, I’m just going from one to the other end and, I get to now be Rocker. Very different. The six-year-old boy that just wants to run into walls and shoot things, who’s grown up,” he said.
Though he’s no longer on 9-1-1, Ferrigno Jr. also hinted that he knows what’s next for Buck’s romantic storyline on 9-1-1 amid speculation that he and his best friend, Eddie Diaz, could finally get together. “I won’t tell you, unfortunately,” he said. “If I knew, then I’d have to kill you. You’d have to disappear, that’s for sure.”
9-1-1 is available to stream on Hulu.
Watch ‘9-1-1’ on Hulu
Meet the 9-1-1 cast’s children and families in real life in the gallery below.