Chicago Fire’s Jesse Spencer celebrates his birthday

Chicago Fire star Jesse Spencer celebrates his birthday today, so let’s celebrate him and the past year for his Chicago Fire character, Matthew Casey.

Happy birthday to Chicago Fire‘s own Jesse Spencer, who plays Firehouse 51’s Captain Matthew Casey. The show wouldn’t be the same without him—even as his character has had a truly crazy year!

Casey is a character who it’s almost impossible not to like. There’s something so earnest about him, and he’s such a blue-collar guy that it feels like One Chicago fans could run into him on the street anywhere.

He’s got an incredibly big heart, and despite the numerous times that the show has put him in a dangerous situation or tried to kill him off, he always comes through. Where other people might have buckled under pressure, he never seems to.

There’s a lot to like about him, and a lot of that comes from Jesse Spencer.

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He’s the one who gives Casey the personality that fans know and love. He provides his character with that warmth that makes anybody feel safe around him, and has a great sense of humor that Chicago Fire doesn’t get to use nearly as much as it should.

But that’s because there always seems to be some trouble for him to deal with, and there’s been a lot more of it over the past year.

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The end of the sixth season involved Casey being separated from his wife Gabriela Dawson (Monica Raymund), which would ultimately lead to the end of their fairytale romance at the beginning of this season.

While the show gave him a new love interest, the only things she managed to accomplish were to get him tangled up in a trailer park conspiracy and get his apartment burned down. He lost all of what was dear to him this season, and it was heartbreaking to see.

But what did Matthew Casey do? He picked himself up and now he’s starting over for what’s like the fourth time on this show (counting the death of his original fiancee Dr. Hallie Thomas). He has always persevered, and always been able to rebuild. There’s something incredibly noble in that, and Jesse Spencer has been great at playing every single beat of his Chicago Fire roller coaster.

Hopefully the rest of this season will be easier on his character, but even if it isn’t, viewers know he will make it worth watching. Happy birthday, Jesse Spencer!

For the latest Chicago Fire season 7 spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago Fire category at One Chicago Center.