'Chicago P.D.'s Jason Beghe: 'You Never Know What the Hell’s Going to Trigger You'

Jason Beghe

Chicago PD has been on a hiatus for several weeks, but it returns tonight with a new episode and the good news is it picks up right where the story left off with Assistant State Attorney Nina Chapman (Sara Bues) stopping by Hank Voight’s (Jason Beghe) house and discovering that he has taken Noah (Bobby Hagan), the young teen who had been kidnapped and traumatized, into his home to recover.

“I think that unconsciously he’s compelled to care for him in a way that he felt that he wished he had cared for his own son, who’s dead,” Beghe tells Parade. “But I don’t think that’s conscious. It’s just something in his mind. It’s just, ‘hey, this kid had nowhere to go, I’ll just take him in myself, what’s the big deal?’”

The big deal is that Voight promises Noah, whose parents disowned him when they learned he was gay, that he will track down the man who abducted him and from who Noah barely escaped with his life. It's a promise cops know better than to make, but Voight possibly feels compelled to save Noah because he couldn’t save Justin (Josh Segarra), his son.

Related: Chicago P.D. LaRoyce Hawkins: Is Atwater Following Voight Into Making Redeemable Mistakes?

“They were the same age,” Beghe continues. “In the beginning of the episode, I’m reminded of Justin because of the photograph that’s found. Though he’s probably sitting there in my mind. Then this case comes along. You never know what the hell’s going to trigger you.”

Is this a softer Voight? Has Hank evolved over the years from the man we first met in Season 1 of Chicago P.D.? He’s been through a lot since then. The aforementioned death of his son, but also the death of his best friend Alvin Olinsky (Elias Koteas) and that’s a death he feels responsible for.

“I see him as a human being who continues to evolve and go through things that affect him personally,” Beghe explains. “He reacts and changes and continues to change and evolve. It’s the same with me, stuff happens, and you try to assimilate it and use it and move on.”

With real-world changes in policing being reflected on the show, Chicago P.D. is also not the same show that it was eleven seasons ago—and that, too, is responsible for the changes we see in Voight. Although, when push comes to shove, the old Voight pops up from time to time and the man who kidnapped Noah may just be someone who brings that old Voight back, at least for this case.

Related: Which Chicago P.D. Star Returns After a Short Absence?

“There’s also this whole big wakeup call because of the changes in policing,” Beghe says. “Obviously, a lot of cops quit. I don’t think Voight can quit. What would he do? He’d probably die without the job, which is interesting to look at. And not necessarily a sign of great health mentally. So, yeah, these are all factors that have contributed to him changing. I would also say that it’s not like he’s become softer or more vulnerable. It’s just that he’s experiencing it now. Before he wasn’t able to experience it. It’s like he is being more uncovered, both to the audience and to himself.”

“The Living and The Dead” episode of Chicago P.D. airs tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

Next, Chicago P.D.'s Adam Ruzek Puts a Ring on Kim Burgess But Will There Be a Wedding This Season?