‘Chicago P.D.’: Marina Squerciati’s Said 1 Devastating Scene ‘Tested’ Her Acting Ability
Chicago P.D. star Marina Squerciati has delivered some emotional performances during her 10-year stint on the NBC show as officer Kim Burgess. She has a good heart and partners well with fellow officer Adam Ruzek. (When are these two getting together? It worked for Jay and Hailey!)
As with any police officer, life can be tough. The police put their lives on the line to protect us every day. For Kim, there was one trial she went through that was particularly hard for both the character and the actor.
Marina Squerciati found one scene ‘hard to act’
Squerciati is a mom. She and her husband welcomed their baby daughter in April 2017. Fast forward three years, and the Season 7 episode I Was Here has devastating consequences for Kim.
In an interview with One Chicago, the actor recalled why this episode was her most memorable.
“Dramatically, it would probably be the episode where I lost the baby. There are so many [scenes] to choose from in that episode. And it all tested me, in a way. They were all hard to figure out, hard to shoot, hard to act.”
In the episode, Kim is on desk duty at a 911 call center. A call comes in from a girl who is a victim of sex trafficking. Kim takes it upon herself to investigate the hotel where the call comes from. The man trafficking the girl brutalizes Kim and nearly kills her before she shoots him dead.
Adam carries her out and gets Kim to a hospital, but it’s too late. Kim’s self-sacrifice saves the life of the girl involved in the sex-trafficking ring at the cost of her own baby.
Viewers praised Marina Squerciati’s performance after Kim lost her baby
The actor has firsthand knowledge of being a mom. What would she feel if something happened to her little girl?
As Kim sits in the hospital bed, Adam comes to comfort her and says he’ll be there for her. There’s no acknowledgment. No tears. No emotions. Just numbness from the shock. One moment, Kim’s baby was fine. The next, the baby is gone. Viewers saw what happened, and they are just as shocked and grieving alongside Kim sitting in that hospital bed.
Brittany Frederick, writing for One Chicago Center, called Squerciati’s scene an:
“ … unbelievable performance—she could dig deep and pull out all of these intense and difficult emotions, but she also knew when it was best to literally not say anything at all, too. She demonstrated both wonderful range and incredible restraint, and always carried her character with dignity.”
Squerciati’s performance was a raw portrayal of a sadly common experience
It’s also very relevant to see that sometimes no words or emotions can possibly express losing someone so precious, innocent, and vulnerable as a baby you want to love so much. That child represents so much more than life.
The promise of a new child is about hopes, dreams, aspirations, giggles, first steps, first day of school, getting a driver’s license, and all of the other celebrations of life. And the actor pulled off that scene perfectly because each individual viewer gets to make up their minds as to what is going on inside her head.
Make sure to tune in to Season 10 of Chicago P.D. on NBC.
