Has a One Chicago actor every played multiple roles at the same time?

Jesse Lee Soffer really threw fans for a loop when he joined the cast of FBI: International. He not only left a Dick Wolf procedural to join, well, another Dick Wolf procedural, but chose to join one that takes place in the same exact universe.

Soffer will be playing a brand new FBI character in the same universe in which his Chicago PD role, Jay Halstead, exists. This means one of two things: either Soffer will pull double duty at one point, and Halstead will return, or he's fully committed to his new character, and Halstead is no longer in play.

Several actors have played multiple One Chicago roles

The only way to determine which is more likely is to look at the history of the One Chicago franchise. There have been lots of instances of actors playing multiple roles within the different shows, but it's a different story entirely when the two characters exist at the same time. Has it ever happened? Well, it's nearly happened a couple times.

Dora Madison played twin sisters Jessica "Chili" Chilton and Alissa Martin in seasons 3-4 of Chicago Fire. Given the timing of Chilton's death, however, Madison simply switched over to the sister, which means she never had to worry about juggling both parts.

S. Epatha Merkerson underwent another notable shift. She spent years playing Anita Van Buren on Law & Order, but she's spent the last decade playing Sharon Goodwin on Chicago Med. Once again, different roles, but never at the same time.

No actor has played two roles at the same exact time

There's never been an instance in which the Dick Wolf universe has cast an actor in a secondary role, then reverted back and brought back the actor's original role. Merkerson has fielded questions on this very topic, but she's maintained that she's hung up her badge as Van Buren.

This spells out bad news for Chicago PD fans. While Jesse Lee Soffer said that he'd be open to coming back and making a cameo as Jay Halstead, the fact that he's committed himself to a brand new character means there's virtually no chance that he will pick up the Halstead mantle again.

Are you excited to see Soffer in action as a new character? Or would you have preferred he remain Jay Halstead in the Dick Wolf universe?