Spotlight: Jeremy Sisto
As Agent Jubal Valentine on FBI, Jeremy Sisto has been an integral part of the New York Field Office on FBI since the procedural’s premiere in 2018. This role isn’t Jeremy’s first in the world of Wolf Entertainment — he previously appeared on Law & Order as Detective Cyrus Lupo. We spoke with Jeremy about his experience playing this character, and what life is like on the set of FBI.
Q: How is your experience playing Jubal on FBI different from roles you’ve had on other Wolf shows, like Detective Lupo on Law & Order?
A: This has been a very different experience than my time on Law & Order. It was the first time I’ve gotten to see Dick launch a new franchise — he is a master at it, at finding all the right ingredients — so getting a front row to that was a blast. The goal was clear: to create a format that’s familiar enough to slide into someone’s entertainment landscape but unique enough to stand on its own. How to get there took a lot of exploring and adjusting, and my character, Jubal, ended up being a big part of that. We were excited about how this kind of role, which is based very much in the reality of how it works, could act as an engine for a who-done-it and a stop-’em-before-they-do-it-again kind of show.
Q: What does a typical day on set look like for you?
A: One of the great things about working in the JOC is there’s not nearly as much waiting around as there is on most sets. We’re rolling cameras a large percentage of the time, which I love. I like to keep it moving.
Q: Do you have a favorite on-set moment or story you can share?
A: Oh man, there are so many. The really special ones are when the entire cast and crew are on the same page. We’re all so engaged in making the scene work that sometimes something happens in a take and everyone is suddenly reminded of how strange it all is. Like, how ridiculous it would look to someone who wasn’t in on it. It could be an actor flubbing a line, or Afton (our very talented Steadicam operator) panning to something unexpectedly that somehow highlights the absurdity of it all, and the whole room just loses it. It takes a lot of faith in the process to act so invested in situations that haven’t even been shot yet. A lot of the screens we’re looking at are just blue on set. So when that spell breaks for a second, it can be hilarious.
Q: What do you admire most about Jubal?
A: His energy. His devotion — to the job, to his family, to his recovery.
Q: What’s your favorite episode of FBI?
A: I really enjoyed “Redoubt” which is Episode 10 of Season 7. Whenever I get an episode with a more personal connection, I have a great time with it. That one had some great twists. But really, it’s the episodes where the JOC is popping that make me happiest. That feels like my most central job on the show, to keep that device fun and alive. The personal stuff is just the icing on the cake.
Catch Jeremy Sisto as Agent Jubal Valentine on FBI Tuesdays at 8/7c on CBS, and stream episodes the next day on Paramount+.
