LaRoyce Hawkins' Nickname for Marina Squerciati is So Cute — and Super Familiar
The Chicago P.D. cast is as close off-screen as on.
The Chicago P.D. cast is as close off-screen as they are on the show! Filming for long hours has bonded the actors, and NBC Insider caught up with LaRoyce Hawkins, who plays Kevin Atwater, for behind-the-scenes details on his friendships with his co-stars. Here's what he spilled.
LaRoyce Hawkins' affectionate nickname for Marina Squerciati
Since Chicago P.D. is a drama, we often don't often get to see a lighter side of the actors. But Hawkins shed some light on who gets the most laughs in-between takes on set. Marina Squerciati, whose played Kim Burgess alongside Hawkins' Atwater since Season 1, wins his comedy award.
"I’m gonna have to give the funniest [on set] to Marina Squerciati, who I affectionately call Burgess, " he says, revealing a very familiar pet name for his costar that all One Chicago fans will appreciate.
Hawkins also compared Squerciati to an iconic comedian, saying, "I think Burgess is the funniest because she’s got a physical comedy that gives you Jim Carrey texture sometimes. If you see her in her physical comedy bag, she can do things that’ll just crack you up."
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Hawkins also divulged which of his co-stars is most likely to "break" or laugh, during one of the procedural's many tense moments. "My dear Tracy Spiridakos [who plays Detective Hailey Upton]. She can’t hold it in her. I don’t know if it’s her being Canadian/Greek, I’m not sure if it’s the fact that she’s extremely sensitive, she can’t hold it together," he said, adding, "And she’s also probably the goofiest for this reason."
RELATED: Tracy Spiridakos Spent Her Downtime from Filming Chicago P.D. in the Coziest Way
Spiridakos, Hawkins, and "Burgess" seem to really enjoy one another's company.
On November 20, Squerciati shared a snapshot of herself, Hawkins and Spiridakos at a Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat game. They were also joined by former Chicago Med star Nick Gehlfuss (Will Halstead). "Get ready, get set, here we come... " she captioned the post, adding "@choosechicago #chicagopd #oneweekuntilwestart #wevemissedyou #laroycehawkins #tracyspiridakos #chicagobulls #chicago."
The fans have missed them, too, but luckily they can catch the return of all the One Chicago shows during the series' Wednesday, January 17 premiere.
Hawkins also opened up about his love of the show during an interview with Essence in 2023, reflecting, "It’s really nothing but gratitude man from my end of things. It’s something that you can’t really expect. You don’t expect your dreams to come true at this capacity and at this level."
He continued, "When you’re young, with the type of imagination that I grew up with, I kind of always saw myself in spaces like these, but you never really see it, or you never know how necessarily. You know what you want to do, but you don’t know how it’s going to get done. And so walking into 11 seasons, just period, it’s powerful. My family’s proud, my neighborhood is proud, so it feels great, and I’m grateful."
