Yahoo Lifestyle Shawn Hatosy Reveals If He's a Villain to the Intelligence Unit on 'Chicago P.D.' (Exclusive)
When Deputy Chief Charlie Reid (Shawn Hatosy) first made the scene in Chicago, he was a man of mystery. It was clear that he felt a kinship to Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) and with it, an interest in the Intelligence Unit. But it was unclear what his motive was.
But more has since been revealed. We now know that Reid was looking for dirt on the unit to use – blackmail is such a strong word – to pressure Voight to police the way that Reid felt was in his best interest. He found it in Episode 8 when he got the goods on Officer Dante Torres’ (Benjamin Levy Aguilar) secret, inappropriate affair with Gloria Perez (Yara Martinez) and the fact that the newly promoted Detective Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) was keeping the secret.
“I don’t think there’s any value in seeing him as a villain,” Hatosy tells Parade. “I think that’s perception, and I believe that his motives come from a decent place. He explains to Voight in this episode, I think, pretty succinctly where he came from and what made him become a cop in the first place. When you face crime like that, when you face loss like that, does it really matter how we get the bad guy, if we get the bad guy?”
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Of course, lawyers would have something to say on that matter. But so far, Reid has managed to keep his nose clean and fend off any challengers. But he may have found his bête noire in Voight rather than the kindred spirit he was looking for.
“I think it’s a unique dynamic for Voight in that Reid knows Voight’s past, he’s read every report, it’s well-documented,” Hatosy continues. “So, to have somebody who’s in a position of power above Voight, operating in this questionable, dark way, I think it’s going to present a serious ethical question that Voight is going to ask himself. So, it is like looking in the mirror for him and how he reacts and how he operates going forward will really solidify what his legacy is.”
It’s not that Voight hasn’t crossed the line many times in his long career with the Chicago P.D., and like Reid, it’s always to get the bad guys. But ever since the death of Alvin Olinsky (Elias Koteas), who took the rap for something Voight had done, Voight is very careful to try not to involve innocents.
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So in tonight’s “Greater Good” episode, Voight questions Reid's motives in enacting a Violence Reduction Initiative across a neighborhood where numerous gangs are fighting for territory, especially when an innocent woman is killed.
“Somebody dies in the process of this situation,” Hatosy points out. “They brush this murder aside, which Voight catches up to and says, 'But there’s a [woman] here who died.' And Reid’s reaction to that is, ‘Well, she was an addict, she was a prostitute, nobody even came and claimed her body. So yes, we lost one, but it’s one for many, one for the good.’”
Voight isn’t happy with the concept that the loss of one innocent’s life is worth many people supposedly being saved in the process. But for Chief Reid, Chicago is a tough place with a lot of unsavory characters, so he feels he’s doing what he can to be the best chief he can be.
“Voight sees that this is Reid’s reaction to this, and I think it starts the wheels turning for what’s going to come in the future for Reid and that is a potential nemesis,” Hatosy wraps it up.
Chicago P.D. airs Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Streams next day on Peacock.
Next, Chicago P.D.'s Gwen Sigan on the Future of Voight, Kiana Cook, and the Burgess/Ruzek Wedding
