Jenna Dewan Loved Getting to ‘Unleash’ on Fiancé Steve Kazee When He Joined The Rookie as Her Ex

Jenna Dewan shines brighter on screen thanks to her fiancé, Steve Kazee.

The actress, 44, who plays firefighter Bailey Nune on the ABC drama The Rookie, recently opened up to Variety about what it was like having Kazee come on board as Jason Wyler, her estranged, abusive husband.

Being a “fan of his talent,” Dewan told the outlet she was “immediately excited” after showrunner Alexi Hawley told her that he wanted Kazee, 49, to join the show.

“He’s such a good actor that I felt we would be able to push each other and really go to places that you feel safer to go to when it’s someone you trust and you’re going home with. It just feels as if you’re going to unlock new sides to your relationship,” Dewan said.

Kazee first appeared midway through Season 4 when his character gets out of prison and Bailey was in the middle of establishing a romance with John Nolan (Nathan Fillion). While Jason would soon be locked up again, he escaped prison once more after Bailey and Nolan tied the knot in season six.

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Although Dewan notes that doing something unconventional is “fun” in general, she enjoys having those “really extreme moments together” that are outside of their normal lives as parents to son Callum Michael Rebel Kazee, 4, and daughter Rhiannon Lee Kathryn Kazee, who turns 1 in June. 

She and Kazee announced their engagement in February 2020. Dewan is also a mom to daughter Everly “Evie” Elizabeth Maiselle Tatum, 11, with ex-husband Channing Tatum.

The mom of three told Variety that she and Kazee immediately realized they “work well together” after their first time sharing the screen. “We wouldn’t have known that until The Rookie,” she added.

As for what the two enjoy most out of collaborating, Dewan said, “I think it was fun for him to play a really bad guy — just truly, outright bad — and it was fun for me to be able to unleash on him.”

“They’d say ‘cut!’ and we’d immediately look at each other and start laughing, like, ‘What are we doing?’ ” she added.

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The Rookie airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.