Joe Minoso
Elizabeth Sisson/NBCJoe Minoso Be warned that his Chicago fire The character, Joe Cruz, “will not be unscathed” after his confrontation with Junior in the series' mid-season premiere.
“He doesn’t think much of himself,” Minoso, 46, said exclusively. Us Weekly on Tuesday, January 7, about Cruise's mental state ahead of the next two episodes. “I think he's more concerned about his brother, especially his wife and kids, which is something he wasn't there when this issue first reared its ugly head.”
During season 1 of Chicago fireCruz left a gang leader named Flaco to die in a fire. The incident came back to haunt the firefighter during the mid-season finale of Season 12. Which aired in November 2024When Cruz found a bullet jar in his closet. The pendant was filled with cremated remains.
Cruz soon learned that Flaco's cousin, Junior (Richard Cabral), he was out of prison and knew what he did. When the show premieres on Wednesday, January 8, Cruz will come face to face with Junior and must decide how to protect himself – and his brother Leon (Jeff Lima), which was previously pulled over by the gang – safe.
Dermot Mulroney received a “very warm” welcome from the cast of Chicago Fire, but the same can't be said for his character, Chief Dom Pascal. “He started off pretty strong. “I don’t think he’s there to be anyone’s best friend,” Mulroney, 60, exclusively told Us Weekly of Pascal’s Firehouse 51 entrance during the Season 13 premiere, which (…)
“Junior definitely wants to help Cruz with some nefarious activities,” Minoso revealed, noting that Cruz has to “make a decision on whether or not he wants to involve himself in that.”
The actor teased that “the stakes are much higher” this time because Cruise is focused on finding a solution that gets “A problem away from (his family).“.
Minoso said viewers will see Cruz “fighting” to do that in Wednesday's episode, with the “ramifications” of his choices playing out one week later.
the One Chicago star He noted that despite Cruise's best efforts to be his own hero, he will have help from his biological brother and his siblings at Firehouse 51.
“For the first time, you will see Cruz leaning on Leon,” Minoso explained. “There's been a lot of resilience with Cruz being the big shoulders in that relationship. I think we're going to see some role reversal there when it comes to those two brothers.”
Leon won't be the only person supporting Cruz moving forward. His boss, Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) He'll get himself into the mess too.
Joe Minoso
Peter Gordon/NBC“I will say there is something going on, which makes it impossible to avoid — or not notice — that something is going on with Cruz,” Minoso said. we. “Especially since our dear friend Severide has incredible intuition and is constantly researching things.”
He said the fear that Cruise's secret would come to light would affect his “work as a firefighter at work” and his “relationship with some of the team members,” and that's where Severide comes in.
Minoso noted that Cruz is “really good at feeling extremely guilty about letting people down” and that Severide is at the top of his list of people he doesn't want to disappoint. (In recent seasons, Severide has appointed Cruise as acting lieutenant when he is out on arson cases.)
“He doesn't want to ruin that level of responsibility,” the actor said, admitting, “It's going to be a tough road for Cruise, especially with Severide and (Dermot MulroneyHead figure Pascal (watching).”
Minoso hinted that the drama with Junior will be his first real introduction to the new president on a personal level, which may not be a good thing.
“(That's) a really bad first impression,” he said. “So hopefully we can find a way to get to a better place with Pascal after the end This line is the whole story“.
Chicago fire It airs on NBC Wednesdays at 9 pm ET.
