Jesse Spencer smiles in truck 81 top

Chicago Fire's Jesse Spencer's head-turning throwback revealed

The Australian actor starred on Chicago Fire for ten years 

US Deputy Editor
July 22, 2023

Jesse Spencer may have earned himself legions of loyal fans from playing heroic fireman Matt Casey in Chicago Fire, but long before he was the captain at Firehouse 51, he took on a very different role.

The Australian actor , 44 - who has since departed the NBC drama - became a household name on the soap, Neighbours.

However, during his stint on the long-running show, he also dipped his toe in the pantomime pool. Unearthed photos of Jesse show him playing Peter Pan in 1998. 

WATCH: Jesse Spencer and Taylor Kinney's unearthed Christmas commercial

While his trademark smile and handsome good looks were as apparent as ever, his outfit isn't something we ever imagined seeing him in. 

Jesse rocked a green, featured tunic, which was belted above his brown shorts and he carried a little wooden sword in his hands. 

His hair was worn in spikes and he wasn't the only Neighbours actor taking on panto as one photo showed him flanked by Brett Cousins as Prince Charming, Anne Charleston as Wicked Queen and Kym Valentine as Snow White.

Jesse Spencer as Peter Pan in pantomime in 1998© Getty Images
Jesse Spencer as Peter Pan in pantomime in 1998

Jesse was a main character on Chicago Fire for ten years, until his departure in 2022

Viewers were overjoyed when they saw him make a triumphant return during the season 11 finale of Chicago Fire.

Fans are now eager to find out if he'll come back full-time in season 12 - something Jesse hasn't ruled out. 

© Getty Images
Jesse Spencer smiles as he takes on the role of Peter Pan

In April, before he made his two brief appearances in episodes 18 and 22, he told Deadline: "The potential to come back would be awesome. I'm always open to that but you know, the ball isn’t really in my court. 

"I always told [series co-creator] Derek Haas that if there were episodes that he thought would be appropriate for me to come back, then I'm totally open to that because I want to see the old gang and I love working there. But in terms of me coming back full-time or something, I have no idea."

© Getty Images
Jesse Spencer and Kara Killmer in Chicago Fire season ten

He left the show to focus on his family after ten years on Chicago Fire and prior to that his long-running role on House from 2004 to 2012."I got married and had a toddler. So things shifted in my life," Jesse said.

He married neuroscientist Kali Woodruff Carr in 2020 and went on to have a child together.

Jesse added: "I realized I’ve been doing TV for a long time. I added it up, and I think this year [2022] is my 18th year of network television. I called Derek and broke him the news, said I thought it was time to leave the show, and he agreed that we should at least get Casey to 200 episodes.

© NBC
Jesse as Matthew Casey in Chicago Fire

"It was a difficult decision because I’ve loved the show from the start, but there are other things that I would like to do in the future, and there’s some family that I need to take care of, and 18 years is a long time."

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