CHICAGO FIRE: Kara Killmer on Saying Farewell to Brett and the Upcoming Brettsey Wedding

February 26, 2024 by Marisa Roffman

CHICAGO FIRE — “Port in the Storm” Episode 12006 — Pictured: (l-r) Hanako Greensmith as Violet Mikami, Kara Killmer as Sylvie Brett, Eamonn Walker as Chief Wallace Boden, Jesse Spencer as Matt Casey, Taylor Kinney as Kelly Severide — (Photo by: Adrian S Burrows Sr/NBC)

It’s a very ONE CHICAGO wedding on the Wednesday, February 28 episode of CHICAGO FIRE as Brett (Kara Killmer) and Casey (Jesse Spencer) finally tie the knot.

But it’s also a bittersweet occasion: Brett is preparing to join Casey in Portland, where he moved in season 10 following Spencer’s FIRE exit, and “Port in the Storm” marks Killmer’s farewell hour with the long-running NBC series.

Here, Killmer—who joined the series in season 3 and has portrayed Sylvie Brett in over 200 episodes of the ONE CHICAGO universe—talks with Give Me My Remote about saying goodbye to CHICAGO FIRE, going full-circle with Brett, the Brettsey wedding, and more.

What conversations were there about how to best say goodbye to Sylvie Brett?
I think this is really the natural conclusion for Sylvie’s story arc. I’m kind of selfishly delighted over the fact that her Chicago journey started as a jilted bride—she was left at the altar by her high school sweetheart from Fowlerton, Indiana—and I love that she ends up across the aisle from the love of her life, who also happens to be the most eligible bachelor in all of Chicago and Portland. And so it’s just such a natural conclusion for the character.

Brett’s loved ones have known since the start of the season that she’ll be leaving them soon. How has it been playing that prolonged farewell?
I’ve been very fortunate in that it would have been so easy for them to have just started the beginning of the season with a conversation between Violet and the other characters in the locker room saying, “Oh, I just got off the phone with Sylvie. She’s settled in Portland with Matt.” They could have just done this huge time jump where it would have just all been done, and you would never have seen any of it. I am so fortunate that they brought me back for six episodes, to really give time for the character to kind of finish out her story. And so I’ve had some time to process it all.

I would say I spent more time probably trying to savor the time that I have rather than really grieving too much over it. These last episodes have just been a blast; it has just been so much fun. And so much laughter—really just enjoyable [times] getting to be with everybody that I love and getting to play [with] these characters for these last six episodes.

CHICAGO FIRE — “Port in the Storm” Episode 12006 — Pictured: (l-r) Hanako Greensmith as Violet Mikami, ViKara Killmer as Sylvie Brett, Miranda Rae Mayo as Stella Kidd — (Photo by: Adrian S Burrows Sr/NBC)

Was there a particular moment when your exit started to feel real?
After we finished, our paramedic technician, Michele Martinez—she’s a real Chicago Fire Department paramedic—she’s been a consultant on the show since season 1. She’s actually the paramedic that Dawson’s character is based on, so she’s got some grit to her, she’s sassy. But she gave me a necklace with a replica of the EMT badge on it and it has Sylvie’s badge number and her badge number on it. And that broke me down pretty good because, you know, even though we’ve been playing first responders for 10 years, all of the actors will tell you that none of us would put ourselves in the same category as these servicemen and women. It is so humbling to be attempting to try and tell their stories, especially for this long. And so, it’s just so sweet that she put our badge numbers together and gave that to me as a gift. And she gave it to me with the EMS prayer. She’s just been a constant friend and aspirational figure for these last 10 years for me. So that one broke me down pretty good.

But I will say, on the flip side, the girls, Hanako [Greensmith, who plays Violet] and Miranda [Rae Mayo, who plays Stella] gave me a pretty good gag gift. They actually had the props department cut the steering wheel of the ambo off and mounted it with a plaque because they said they wanted me to be the last person to have touched that wheel. 61 is still there, but I assume by now it probably has a new wheel. So I have the lovely task of figuring out how to mount that in my home. Which I’m delighted to figure out. [Laughs.] She is coming with me.

Before Brett can leave, there’s a wedding to pull off. What can you preview about how Brett is holding up and how much we’ll actually see of the big day?
I had a similar response to Sylvie when I first saw the space: “Okay, we have our work cut out for us.” But, you know, this is kind of a staple of our show, where one house member has a big problem and all of 51 has to put their heads together to find a solution—and they absolutely do just that. So by the time we get to the wedding, they have really worked to transform the space.

[It’s changed] so much that I told the owner of the aquarium, which is called Tank it Easy in real life, ”You’re gonna have to remember how you did this, because people are gonna want to get married here after this.” They transform[ed] it with flowers, they moved the tanks around, they changed the lighting. So, it’s a different space by the time the wedding actually happens. It’s very unique.

You would maybe think that Casey and Brett were gonna get married at, like, an old firehouse or a church or a country club or something, but no; it is in this aquarium. And I thought maybe I should tip Jesse off, just give him a heads up, like, “Hey, we’re getting married at a pet store.” And I was like, what’s the point? He’s Australian. He’s gonna walk into the space and be like [does an imitation of Spencer], “Oh, fish! I kind of like it.” And he did. He was like, “Oh, this is neat!”

It’s a very unique wedding, like all of the ONE CHICAGO weddings we’ve seen, which are kind of like that. But it’s a lot of fun. Sylvie kind of has a Monica Geller [from FRIENDS] sort of vibe: she’s very controlling and she’s very planned out. So it’s humorous that of all the things that she’s so militantly planned out about, her wedding kind of ended up this way. But it’s very sweet in the end.

CHICAGO FIRE: 'Port in the Storm' Photos

CHICAGO FIRE — “Port in the Storm” Episode 12006 — Pictured: (l-r) Kara Killmer as Sylvie Brett, Jesse Spencer as Matt Casey — (Photo by: Adrian S Burrows Sr/NBC)

What did it mean to you to be able to reunite with Jesse and have this farewell together?
How weird would it be if Sylvie’s story ended without seeing Casey? I mean, that just wouldn’t do. And it’s so fun for everybody when Jesse comes back. All of us want our captain back. It’s so much fun whenever he comes back and guest stars.

With him, it’s like picking up right where we left off; there’s no adjustment period or anything. We just jumped right in where we left off. He and I, I think we make things work just by cracking each other up all the time. He’s a bit of a clown. He’s a dork—and so am I—so we really just spend a lot of time laughing. And so it’s just delightful. And Sylvie’s story would never be complete without Casey coming back. So I am so glad that the writers decided to let it end this way.

It feels like no farewell is permanent in the ONE CHICAGO world. Would you pop back in if they came calling?
The door is wide open. I would come back anytime. Anytime you need Sylvie to come back, I am happy to pop in. You know, 51 is notorious for getting itself in all kinds of trouble, and if they need Sylvie to come back and straighten things out for them, I’m happy to do it.

CHICAGO FIRE, Wednesdays, 9/8c, NBC

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