LaRoyce Hawkins on the Amazing Way 'Chicago P.D.' Has 'Replaced Energy' Without Jesse Lee Soffer

Despite the absence of Jesse Lee Soffer, "Chicago P.D." is still at the top of its game, according to LaRoyce Hawkins

The Intelligence Unit of Chicago P.D. continues its day-to-day work of solving cases even as it still is reeling from the loss of Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer), who was the centering presence of the unit. And with its current complex case—complicated because it involves an investigation into Chief O’Neal’s (Michael Gaston) son Sean (Jefferson White) for trafficking young women, his absence is definitely felt.

“It’s very different, because our dynamic has been so tight, we’ve been so locked in with each other for so long, and Jesse was a big part of that,” LaRoyce Hawkins, who plays Kevin Atwater, tells Parade in this exclusive interview. “And so on set as we go into these situations, whether it’s the battlefield or breaching buildings so that we can find somebody, when it’s time to unpack a scene, when we have to think about what this scene means and what everybody’s role is in the circumstance, we’ve had to find different ways of stepping up.”

Related: How Jesse Lee Soffer Left His Role as Jay Halstead on Chicago P.D.

One of the key elements that Halstead brought to the Intelligence Unit was his ability to pull Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) back from the brink of making bad policing choices. Halstead was a by-the-book cop until the end when he felt himself starting to drift over to the dark side—whatever it takes to get a case closed—and felt he needed to leave to make himself right again, so he took a job with the army.

"It's black and white, it's good and bad, it's right and wrong, and it's no more of this," Halstead told his wife Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) on why he felt the need to quit and take a new job. "I need that. I need that back. I fly out today. It's not forever, it's eight months, maybe a little longer. But I swear to you that we're going to get through this because you're the love of my life, and if I'm yours, then you'll know that you have to let me go."

So, now it’s up to the rest of the team to fill the void he left and have Voight’s back.

“We know how prepared Sarge is going to be every time we come to work, and Jesse was perhaps, in my humble opinion, one of the strongest No. 2s that we could have had,” Hawkins continues. “Because he was also very prepared and could relieve Sarge in moments where Sarge either wasn’t there or was tired. And so now for Sarge to look at us, whether it’s me, Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati), or Upton, it’s different.”

But different doesn’t mean it’s any less. Chicago P.D. has survived numerous departures by central cast members—Jon Seda (Antonio Dawson), Sophia Bush (Erin Lindsday) and Elias Koteas (Alvin Olinsky), to name a few—and has filled the gaps with new characters and new stories that have grown its audience.

Related: Jesse Lee Soffer Confirms Return to Chicago PD With New Role

“I think we’re still at the top of our game,” Hawkins says. “I think we can still story tell at a high level, very much so. I think the acquisition of a young Dante Torres, played by Benjamin Levy Aguilar, is perfect for the way we can replace energy so to speak. And I know that’s almost impossible scientifically, but you know what I mean. When it comes to running and gunning, the fight and the combat, all that kind of stuff, Torres can handle that. And so, we still have that in a young way, so it’s cool.”

Chicago P.D. airs Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

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