Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) has been single for as long as we've known him. He hasn't gone on a date since his wife died, and that was well before the events of Chicago PD. That is what makes his bond with Nina Chapman (Sara Bues) so unique.
These two are not romantically involved, but their emotional connection is so strong that Chapman admitted to having romantic feelings for Voight during her last appearance. It not only caught us off guard as viewers, it got the veteran police officer off guard as well. He's not used to it.
Jason Beghe spoke with TV Insider about this relationship, especially with Chapman's character returning from her out of town sojourn. The actor claimed there both Chapman and Voight realize how strong their connection is, and therefore don't want to take anything for granted.
Jason Beghe alluded to Voight feeling "love"
"We’ve shot one episode since she’s been back and we are working together very closely, but we have not brought up or even alluded to that other conversation," he explained. Beghe does not want to tip his hand as to what happens on the show, obviously, but his evocation of a particular world in the interview has us intrigued.
"There is a closeness and a respect and a word you could use that probably would be misinterpreted," the actor told the outlet. "So with a grain of salt, intimacy, which Voight certainly doesn’t share much with many others." The word Beghe is alluding to seems to to be "love," which is a massive revelation on the part of his character.
Voight has had meaningful connections all throughout Chicago PD's runtime, but the word "love" has rarely entered his lexicon. We certainly haven't heard Beghe use the word to describe the character. It is even more telling that he evokes it rather than state it out loud.
Voight has a long track record of tragedy
Then again, Voight has not had the best luck when it comes to caring about people. The poor guy has lost of the people in his life who meant something to him, whether it be through death or departure. It definitely hurt him to see long time peers like Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) and Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) leave the Windy City.
Beghe acknowledges this unfortunate pattern, and how it informs Voight's reluctance to get close to people. "The team members that he was able to do that with, that he had historically done it with, are all gone or dead," he lamented. "So it’s kind of interesting, I think, to see a little bit of Voight at home, so to speak."
Yes, we too are concerned about Nina Chapman's safety. If she and Voight get closer, Chicago PD logic dictates that she be put in harm's way at some point, or perhaps even killed. We really don't want to see that happen. Voight has been on a quest to find some inner-peace over the last year, so maybe Chapman will break the trend and allow him to fully open up to someone in a romantic capacity.
It would certainly be nice to see. Voight can't be the solo guy chasing down bad guys forever, after all.