Being Assistant Steve Kot on Chicago P.D
What do you think is the relevance of your Steve Kot with respect to the story?
The writers used Steve as a stopgap, a voice of reason when the Intelligence Unit got a little too aggressive with their tactics. Steve was kind of a salty guy who definitely wanted to put bad guys behind bars but only if it was done legally. Occasionally he had to remind Voight and the team that there were limits to what they could do.
What is the best part of playing Steve Kot on Chicago PD?
From a career standpoint it was my first recurring role on a show. So it moved me up the ladder a little bit. Creatively it was great to be able to play with Jason Beghe, who taught me a lot while I was there.
Do you have a favorite Steve Kot scene and line?
In one episode Steve is bemoaning the fact that the cops have brought him a case with no evidence, and Antonio says, “We’ll build a case.” and Steve replies, “With what? Legos?” Steve had a sense of humor after all. (Season 3.04 “Forget My Name”)
My 16-year-old daughter wants me to ask you, “How does it feel to be in a scene with Jason (Voight) and Elias (Olinsky)?”
Those two guys are forces, yet they’re very generous on set. We always worked out the details of the scene as a team, which is not always the case when you are guest-starring on a show. Sometimes you’re just there to do what the director and star wants you to do, but with those two guys, it was a team effort. I respect that a lot about them. (Season 2.01 Call It Marconi)
Do you have a memorable moment on Chicago PD that you want to share?
My first day back on Season 3 was not an easy day. We were shooting a scene where Jason comes down a staircase to chat in the lobby of the police station and for whatever reason I couldn’t get the lines out. It was this long scene with a bunch of tough names and legal jargon and Amy Morton listening in the background, and it all had to be done in one take. I made Jason go up and down those stairs like 10 times that day. He was cool about it though. (Season 3.03 Actual Physical Violence)
