‘FBI’ Star John Boyd Details Filming That ‘Powerful’ Scola & Nina Scene

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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for FBI Season 7 Episode 9 “Descent.”]

It just took a case that hit very close to home for Scola (John Boyd) to open a letter that had been sitting on his desk for months on FBI.

In the midseason premiere, the team raced the clock to convince terrorists to either let planes they’d taken control of land or find a way to stop them — before fighter jets would be forced to shoot them down as they neared high-value targets (including a nuclear station). They were able to regain control just in time. Then, Scola went home to Nina (FBI: Most Wanted‘s Shantel VanSanten) and had her open and read the letter that had been on his desk, which confirmed that the remains of his brother, a 9/11 victim, were identified.

Below, Boyd takes us inside filming that heartbreaking scene and teases what’s ahead for him — on his show and Most Wanted.

Talk about filming that Scola and Nina scene at the end.

John Boyd: We got to shoot that scene with Carlos Bernard, who directed, and Carlos is an actor, and of course, we’re like, “We gotta talk about the scene. Let’s talk about the scene before anything else. We gotta talk about…” He’s calling, we’re having meetings on the phone, and we don’t want to talk about it too much because it’s that kind of scene where you’re thinking about it all week. You’re thinking about it all week, all night, and here it comes and we’re here. And oh goodness. It’s a beautiful scene that they wrote. When I heard about this letter and the story and Scola finding out about his brother’s remains, I immediately thought, oh, I hope that they decide to have Nina read the letter, which they did. And that really made the scene so much more powerful because I have to ask her to open it and ask her to read it.

But I loved filming it because at this point in the show, we trust enough to know that we’re going to find it. There’s going to be things that appear, that show up when we go to shoot the scene. Shantel and I have a shorthand of working together. We know and we show up and it’s there. And what it was was this cathartic grief and joy at the same time. It’s like that thing where when you’ve lost someone and there’s something you carry, and then something happens in your day where you feel their presence so clearly. Some people would be like, oh, it’s a visit from my grandmother, or it was this, that letter, this thing shows up. And it’s like his brother going, “I’ve been in here the whole time. You’ve waited this long and you were scared to know, but I’m right here.” And can you imagine — I mean, what an honor to get to tell a story about that type of grief, about Americans waiting for a piece of clothing, a scrap of something for the people that they loved, and what it would mean to find that out 20 years later or that there’s been a match. What a beautiful thing to get to play. So we really were trying to honor that and really feel the presence of a loved one.

Bennett Raglin / CBS

Would he still have made the decision to open that envelope when he did if not for the case that brought all this back? It was sitting on his desk for months.

I love that they wrote a case where I’m not ready to do it until I’ve done the case. Scola is a different guy by the end than he is at the beginning. The case makes him ready, and he is ready to do it and find out. And yeah, I mean, if he’s not opening it after this, he is not opening it ever. So yeah, it was cool. I liked it.

So you do think that it brought him the closure that is mentioned in the letter? Are we going to see a little bit of a different Scola going forward now?

Yeah, I mean, I think that maybe there’s a part of him that’s a little lighter. I think how he relates to that tragedy, we don’t know, is there a different kind of grief? Are there more difficult decisions to make? Is there a new type of grieving that he has to do? But in the end, is he able to carry the memory of his brother with a little bit lighter heart?

What else is coming up for Scola after this?

We’re doing a really interesting episode right now about a case that takes place at Scola’s old high school. We find out that his parents sent him to a military school upstate because they wanted to punish him, but there’s some really dark things uncovered about the school and Scola navigating it. It’s an OA [Zeeko Zaki] and Scola partnership episode, and it’s really about friendship and it’s cool. I’m excited for people to see it.

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Do we learn anything about Scola’s past?

Absolutely. Yeah, we do. We find out some interesting details about his journey into adulthood.

Are we going to see you on Most Wanted soon?

Yeah, I think rumor has it, I’m popping over there for a little Nina storytelling. I think there’s some family dynamics happening for her, and I think the storyline with her sister, Scola will be present for some of that and helping her along the way.

That episode with her father and her sister — how was that for you?

It was cool. I just wished I got to be at the restaurant, too. I was like, “That was such a great scene. Maybe I could just sit there and not say anything? I’ll just listen.” It was a really powerful scene.

Is there anything you’re hoping to explore with Scola this season or in the future? Because you did get that major renewal. You’re going through Season 9 at least.

Well, the show is going through Season 9. Yeah, fingers crossed, if I get to keep doing this, I would love to. The sky’s the limit. I think it’s really interesting to do just what’s in front of you one at a time and see how the audience responds to it and how people react and go from there.

FBI, Tuesdays, 8/7c, CBS

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