‘Chicago Fire’ Fans Can’t Get Enough of Chief Boden
Earlier this year, NBC renewed Chicago Fire for its ninth through eleventh seasons. The popular series shows no signs of slowing down, and NBC has some incredible actors and characters to thank– some of the intense action scenes even feature the work of real firefighters. One particular character is universally loved by fans, and a recent tweet by the official Chicago Fire Twitter reminded everyone just how popular he is.
Why fans love Wallace Boden
Battalion Chief Wallace Boden has been a central character since the first season of Chicago Fire in 2012. Fans love his attitude and willingness to protect the men and women he’s been placed in charge of. Although the character has been through ups and downs over the eight seasons of the show, Boden is one of the show’s huge draws and the actor behind him has put scene after scene on his back over the years.
One of the biggest surprises fans might experience after hearing Boden speak like any other Chicagoan on Fire is that not only is the actor not from the Midwest, but he’s not even American. Actor Eamonn Walker was born in London in 1962. The ChiHard fans who have gone in-depth enough to watch interviews with the cast have likely figured out that Walker is from England, but it’s a surprise to most people! Walker has played Boden on Fire (and its crossovers) since season one, and he’s nailed the role.
A rocky start and turn-around
In season one, fans were being introduced to the cast and Boden didn’t get the most generous screen time. He was constantly in the middle of firehouse conflicts and even had an affair with the wife of a coworker (Henry Mills) that may have contributed to Mills’s death. But as season one continued, Boden continued to step up and demonstrate that he was reliable as a leader even if he wasn’t yet a popular personality among fans.
Season two brought true love for Boden, leading to marriage and eventually a child. Throughout the rest of the show, Boden only became more popular with fans. His reliability as a boss helped ChiHards everywhere relate to him as he helped the other characters with their day-to-day struggles and the emergencies that go hand in hand with working in the FD. Even though he’s not a heartthrob with constant romance storylines like other characters, Boden is a pillar of the show.
The show’s tweet and fan reactions
On June 25th, @ChicagoFire on Twitter posted a gif of Boden nodding and grinning along with the caption “Chief Boden’s smile can brighten up any ChiHard’s day.” Almost immediately, dozens of fans replied: “Love love love this man, the actor and the character he plays.” Another said, “Eamonn is amazing! Love him!” Yet another chimed in, “Heck yeah. He has a beautiful smile. And nice accent @eamonwalker”.
Chicago Fire has been off the air since the Season Eight finale on April 15th, 2020. But the show account is still active on Twitter, connecting with fans as we all wait for the next three (!) confirmed seasons to film and air.
As part of the Chicago Universe (which includes Law & Order: SVU), Fire shares a fan base with Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med. Fans of all three shows keep up with every episode and eagerly anticipate crossover events. And with characters like Boden, why wouldn’t they? Coronavirus (COVID-19) has thrown a wrench into production schedules, but fans are still hoping to see season nine hit their TV screens later this year. Season eight debuted on September 25th of 2019, which may be a difficult target to hit this year. But NBC is likely to do everything they can to get new episodes of one of their most popular shows on the air.
