What role did Jon Seda play on Chicago Fire? Everything to know about his character

The NBC series on first responders and firefighters, Chicago Fire, had Jon Seda as one of its early actors joining in the premiere season of the show. Jon Seda portrayed Detective Antonio Dawson in the series and also in its spinoff, Chicago P.D. Seda’s Dawson exited Chicago Fire after season 6 along with all its spinoff series. Dawson was said to have relocated to Puerto Rico.

Currently, Chicago Fire is airing its 14th season. As of writing this article, the series has aired its episode 7 of the season, which also acted as the fall finale before the series went on its winter hiatus. 

Season 14 premiered with the inclusion of a new firefighter, Sal Vasquez, to Firehouse 51. Despite getting a cold welcome, Vasquez tried hard to do his job sincerely. Eventually, Violet witnessed him breaking open a door to save an unconscious woman and expertly inserting the I-V into her. This impressed her.

Elsewhere, Annette told Chief Pascal that some CFDs were being shut down for funding scarcity and Engine 51 may be one of them. Pascal planned to address the fund problems on his own. Meanwhile, Severide became the interim in charge of the firehouse during Pascal’s absence. He bonded with Isaiah and joined Van Meter in an investigation on arson in school.

While Novak was seen reconciling with her siblings, Severide and Van Meter were shut inside a building which was set on fire by an unknown culprit in Chicago Fire season 14, mid-season fall finale.

Revisiting Jon Seda’s character on Chicago Fire

As mentioned before, Jon Seda portrayed the character of Detective Antonio Dawson on Chicago Fire from season 1 to season 6. Simultaneously, he played the same role on Law & Order: SVU, Chicago Justice and Chicago P.D. While in P.D, Seda held the main role, his portrayal of Dawson on Chicago Fire was a recurring role.

Seda’s Antonio Dawson was a cop and a detective. His intense role in One Chicago series included drug busts, undercover operations and high-profile custodies. 

In one of his escapades, he was shot during a drive-by. At the time his sister, paramedic Gabriella made a deal with Voight. However, when Voight harassed firefighter Lieutenant Casey, Dawson arranged for a sting operation to catch Voight. Although arrested successfully, Voight was later exonerated and promoted to head the Intelligence Unit of CPD. Voight further invited Dawson to join his team.

Besides a close relationship with his sister Gabby, Dawson was shown to have an on-and-off romance with Sylvie Brett, the Chicago Fire paramedic. After their fallout, Sylvie and Dawson were seen getting intimate in season 6. After Dawson moved to join CPD, his appearances on Chicago Fire reduced. Sometime later Dawson was revealed to be getting addicted to opioids. To escape his addiction, he left for Puerto Rico and is presumably well-settled there.

Actor Jon Seda told Screen Rant in a February 2025 interview that his character, Dawson, was still alive and Seda would be happy to return to his role if the show calls him.

A glimpse at Jon Seda’s career

Amateur boxer Seda started his career in 1992 with Gladiator. Some of his other movies include Bullet to the Head, Larry Crowne, Bad Boys II, Undisputed, Love the Hard Way, Selena, Primal Fear, 12 Monkeys, I Like It Like That, Zebrahead and many more.

Jon Seda has been part of numerous television shows including La Brea, Treme, The Pacific, Close to Home, Kevin Hill, UC: Undercover, Third Watch, Homicide: Life on the Street, Homicide: The Movie, Oz, Mistrial and more.

Watch previous episodes of Chicago Fire on Peacock till it returns with regular episodes on NBC on January 7, 2026.