Chicago PD: Jason Beghe says Halstead exit is like ‘death in the family’

Hank Voight has a lot on his mind. The Chicago PD season 10 premiere sees him tracking down leads, working tirelessly to infiltrate drug dealers, and, to an extent, putting members of his own team in danger.

Things seem to mellow out slightly towards the end of the episode, but it’s clear that Voight is on a path towards self-destruction. It’ll be tough to imagine how bad he will get when Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) exits, either through death or a transfer out of the IU.

While Voight is known for keeping his feelings hidden, the actor who plays him, Jason Beghe, has weighed in on PD‘s impending departure and what it means for the future.

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Beghe told Hollywood Life that Halstead being gone will be a “big change” for the entire cast, and that he’s still unsure as to how it will affect the dynamic of the show. Beghe and Soffer have been in nearly every episode of PD since it premiered in 2014, so it makes sense that the duo would be particularly close.

"“For one thing, it’s kind of like a death in the family”, the actor stated. “Obviously, there’s a painful emotional response. How much you are aware of it, it remains to be seen. You lose a mother, child, a brother, close friend, it’s going to affect you. How so you don’t really know, but it will. And we will find out. I’m sorry I can’t be more specific.”"

This is the first time that Beghe has spoken on Soffer’s plans to leave the show, but he is not the first PD star to express his admiration for Soffer. Marina Squerciati and Tracy Spiridakos have both paid tribute to Soffer on their IG accounts, and newcomer Benjamin Levy Aguilar has told outlets that he considers the actor to be a mentor, much like Halstead is to his character, Torres.

To put it mildly, he will be missed.

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