Rome Flynn, an Emmy-winning actor recognized for his role as Zende Forrester Dominguez in the daytime soap "The Bold and the Beautiful," has secured a recurring guest spot in the 12th season of NBC's "Chicago Fire."
According to Deadline, Flynn will take on the role of Jake Gibson, a former amateur boxer known for his quiet confidence and troubled history. His character, described as physically fit and fearless, catches the attention of Truck 51 through a heroic act.
Flynn is set to make his first appearance as Jake in the second episode of "Chicago Fire" Season 12, scheduled to air Jan. 24. Deadline suggests that this guest role may evolve into a more significant part in the future.
As Flynn joins the cast, two established actors are set to depart in the upcoming season. Alberto Rosende, portraying firefighter Blake Gallo, will make his last appearance in the season premiere. Similarly, Kara Killmer, who plays paramedic Sylvie Brett, will also be leaving the show sometime in the next season.
After being postponed because of the actors and writers strikes this summer, the entire One Chicago lineup returns on Wednesday, Jan. 17. The evening begins with the ninth-season premiere of "Chicago Med," followed by "Chicago Fire" and concludes with the 11th-season premiere of "Chicago P.D."
Let's get to know Flynn as he joins the brave men and women of Firehouse 51.
Rome Flynn's Career
(Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images for Prime Video)
Rome Trumain Ceno Flynn is an American actor, model and musician renowned for his role as Zende Forrester Dominguez in the CBS daytime drama "The Bold and the Beautiful." His performance in this series earned him the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series in 2018. Flynn is also recognized for playing the character of law student Gabriel Maddox in the ABC drama "How to Get Away with Murder."
In his career, Flynn gained the attention of casting directors by leveraging his social media presence. In spring 2014, he was cast in the television movie "Drumline: A New Beat," a sequel to the 2002 film "Drumline." During the filming of this movie, Flynn's daughter was born.
Flynn joined the cast of "The Bold and the Beautiful" as Zende in May 2015. In November 2016, he revealed his casting in the movie adaptation of Gretchen McNeil's novel "TEN," starring alongside China Anne McClain.
In 2017, Flynn made guest appearances on the CBS crime dramas "NCIS: New Orleans" and "MacGyver." He also joined the cast of OWN's "The Haves and the Have Nots." On Aug. 17, 2017, he announced his departure from "The Bold and the Beautiful" after a two-year stint.
After appearing in the fourth-season finale of "How to Get Away with Murder" as Gabriel Maddox, Flynn was promoted to being a series regular for the fifth season in 2018.
On Feb. 23, 2021, Flynn was cast as Tevin Wakefield in the second season of the Netflix series "Raising Dion," executive-produced by Michael B. Jordan. That same day, he also secured a recurring role in the fourth and final season of Justin Simien's "Dear White People," distributed by Netflix. Additionally, Flynn joined the cast of "With Love," produced by Amazon Studios and created by Gloria Calderón Kellett.
Flynn says that his dream role would be as a recurring character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Rome Flynn's Personal Life
(Photo by Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for Amazon Music)
Flynn was born on Nov. 25, 1991, and grew up in a household of eight siblings. As the second oldest and the eldest boy, he often found himself in a position of responsibility, gaining knowledge and experience ahead of his siblings. This early role instilled in him a sense of leadership and a necessity to appear knowledgeable from a young age.
"They'll never be able to catch up to me, and I've always gone through things before them," he told Ebony Magazine. "So I had a little bit more knowledge of certain things. Having that at a young age meant I had to act like I knew what I was talking about early on in life."
Flynn is a father to a daughter named Kimiko, who was born on Dec. 12, 2014. In 2015, Kimiko joined Flynn in a Christmas-themed photo session for the magazine CBS Soaps In Depth.
Flynn views fatherhood as a lifelong commitment, valuing the opportunity to raise a child who surpasses his own accomplishments. He believes that parenthood is a universal experience, transcending all backgrounds.
"Being a father, that's a job that you sign on to forever," he said. "It's such a special thing to try your best to make a person that's 10 times better than you. Parenthood is the ultimate equalizer when it comes to our lives. No matter who you are, it vehemently affects you when you have a kid. You're afraid, and you don't know what the hell you're doing. But I feel, and people don't realize this until it happens, that it just comes naturally as part of human nature. You will always be a father and have contributed to our evolution and the human race. It unites us, no matter what race we are. It's one of the few things that connects us, and it's definitely one of the most important roles I'll ever play."
In the interview with Ebony, Flynn discussed the societal perception of Black men and their emotional expression.
"The consensus in society is that Black men don't express their feelings, but a lot of Black men out there are very in touch with their emotional side and can be vulnerable with people in their lives," he said. "Tapping into our vulnerability is about breaking those social constructs that prevent us from allowing ourselves to feel whatever we feel. I try not to suppress my feelings because life is beautiful in that way, to feel everything. And my occupation is to be pretty dialed into my emotional state."
Flynn also stresses the importance of Black individuals being at the forefront of storytelling to bring more Black narratives to the screen. He asserts that relying on the existing system for change is futile.
"To bring more Black stories to the screen, the key is to be at the forefront of telling our own stories," he said. "That's going to give us the liberty to break that metaphorical cycle. We can't depend on the system to change because it's not going to. For Hollywood to embrace Black stories in general, there have to be people who are willing to take a chance on telling those stories and actively creating them. We need people who come from our perspective and then put those people in positions of power to make those stories happen."
