Hank Voight is the face of Chicago PD. He may not always be the focus, but it's impossible to conceive of the show without him. One could argue he's the One Chicago character who is most important to his show. And he's undergoing some changes in season 12.
The episode "Marie" saw Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger) resort to some extreme measures to interrogate a suspect regarding a kidnapping. The police officer relied on force, and even got close to seriously injuring the suspect before Voight intervened. It was a huge moment, given how many times Voight has used similar tactics in the past. But he has learned from his mistakes.
Voight is striving to set a good example for IU
Jason Beghe, the actor who plays Voight, discussed this transformation during a recent interview with TV Insider. He noted that the officer has become more self-aware in recent years, and realized that violence is not indicative of effectiveness.
"Voight used to slap people and do things that were way outside the lines," he explained, before noting the different ways in which the character has evolved. "He’s kind of reined it in and that’s part of the new policing and he has to change and evolve and ultimately, he wants to do his job well." It's been a challenge, especially when faced with particular suspects, but Voight has tried his best.
Beghe noted that his character wants to test himself as an officer, and be a better example for those working under him in IU. Which is something he had to confront when Ruzek flew off the handle. He's shown people like Ruzek that this sort of approach is acceptable. And he wants to fix that.
The character is more reflective in season 12
"He understood that you can’t do that anymore, so he had to find other ways to do his job well," the actor asserted. "And he doesn’t want Adam to fall into that trap either." Interestingly, Beghe said that Voight and Ruzek have more similarities than fans might suspect, especially when it comes to being his complete unfiltered self.
The actor described Ruzek's behavior as being very "Voight-like," in ways both good and bad. He noted that Voight is not worried about Ruzek moving forward, but that he wants to continue to set a better example moving forward. "It's only in the last couple of seasons where he’s actually started to kind of have really any self-reflection," Beghe admitted.
We're curious to see how this self-reflection and self-control factors into Voight's upcoming conflict with Chief Deputy Reid (Shawn Hatosy).