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Marina Squerciati Shares New Pics She "Wasn't Allowed to Show" of Elias Koteas
The Chicago P.D. actress and her co-stars were tasked with keeping Koteas' finale return a secret.
Chicago P.D. fans were thrilled to see Elias Koteas pop up in the Season 11 finale, "More," when Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) hallucinates that his character, the late Alvin Olinsky, is talking too him. But preserving the surprise for fans meant hiding Koteas's return to set, and now that the cameo has aired, Marina Squerciati can finally post some very special photos from Jesse Lee Soffer's birthday.
Check them out below.
RELATED: This Is What Happened to Voight's Son, Justin, on Chicago P.D.
Marina Squerciati "wasn't allowed" to post these pictures with Elias Koteas
On her Instagram Stories, Squerciati, who stars as Officer Kim Burgess, uploaded three snaps from Soffer's birthday party held at Lyra, a Greek restaurant in Chicago. Clearly, Koteas' attendance would have been a giveaway to fans who follow her social media. The whole cast had to be careful with what they posted, as they gave nothing away when they initially shared snaps from the night out. Soffer's birthday is at the end of April, so Squerciati sat on these photos for about a month.
Soffer, who played Detective Jay Halstead, isn't actually appearing on the series any more, but did return to direct a Season 11 episode, and clearly loves his Chicago fam.
Tracy Spiridakos posted her Koteas pics, too
Tracy Spiridakos, who just ended her run as Detective Hailey Upton, also shared her happy reunion with Koteas, whose character died way back at the end of Season 5. She posted pics on Instagram, writing, "I’m so glad Luce had a camera to capture our reunion. Love you so much!" and sharing pictures of their warm hug. (Brian Luce is a producer on the series.)
Beghe confirmed to NBC Insider that he'd "been fighting for" Koteas to return "for years," and it was super emotional when it finally happened.
"I have a very special connection with him as a human being and certainly as an actor," the actor said. "I can just say that on the first take, we cut, director called out something, and I didn’t respond and I didn’t know why. I just kinda walked onto the set, and, uh, I burst into tears, you know? ‘Cause it was just, it’s just a lot."
The star continued, "Both Voight having that experience with Olinsky, and to some degree, you become your character on the set. But also, just Jason having the opportunity to reconnect with the artist Elias... it surprised me. I knew how deeply I felt about him, but I’m not a crier."
RELATED: Olinsky's Heartbreaking Last Scene on Chicago P.D. Is So Tough to Watch
