How the Child Actress Who Played Zoe on Chicago P.D. Intimidated Patrick John Flueger
The actor, who plays Officer Ruzek, had nothing but praise for the young star: "She's so good!"
One of the most fascinating ongoing storylines of Chicago P.D. Season 12 has been the mysterious and unsettling story about a young girl named Zoe (Annabelle Toomey) who was inadvertently part of a serial killer's manipulative plot.
It's been a tension-filled rollercoaster ride as Patrick John Flueger's Adam Ruzek took the lead to uncover the uncomfortable truth — and viewers were hooked.
Fans first were introduced to Annabelle in Season 12, Episode 10's "Zoe." The story finally concluded in the February 26 episode "Marie" — but not before the girl was kidnapped. The storyline played out in a way that not only affected people like Ruzek on-screen but also had a considerable impact on Flueger off-screen. The star can't stop raving about the child actress, and in a recent interview with Cinema Blend, he admitted that her performance blew him away.
"She's so good, she's almost intimidating," he explained. "It just made it easy. I could just sit there and talk to her. I think she's about 8 years old. She's playing 6 or 8, somewhere in there, and I asked her how much she knew. A lot of the time, parents — as they should — protect the kiddos from the broad scope [of scripts] and quite frankly, she didn't need to know the whole story, but her grasp of what she needed to do is shocking."
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Flueger described Annabelle's impressive commitment to taking direction, confessing that she was so convincing during one scene that it made him uncomfortable.
"She actually got told to take a little pause before she responded to me in one moment, and it made [the episode]," Flueger said. "And it was so uncomfortable because she didn't just pause. She paused to the point where I was like, 'Did she forget her line?' But you could tell she didn't, because she was still so in it. She blew me away. I'm not gonna lie."
Between takes, Flueger remembered he couldn't help but tell Annabelle that she was "a natural" — and her response blew him away once again!
"She goes, 'I know,'" he recalled. "And not in a mean way. She just had that confidence."
Longtime One Chicago fans should recognize the up-and-coming young actress. She guest-starred as a different character in the Chicago Fire Season 12 episode "The Little Things" in 2024!
(And she was excellent in that episode, too.)
Jason Beghe commends Patrick John Flueger's performance in "Marie"
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The delicate storyline revolving around Ruzek and little Zoe required more than just a star-making performance by Annabelle. Ruzek had some heavy lifting to do as well. In fact, co-star Jason Beghe had amazing words for both of them in a recent PEOPLE interview!
"This little girl and these two episodes are just fantastic," Beghe confessed. "'Marie,' to me is one of the most lovely. It's a very, very, very special episode. Paddy is just so good. And there's something about it, I feel like he found his comfort zone and his voice this season which is just it's so gratifying for me because I love him so much."
According to the 64-year-old star, there's something inspiring about Flueger's Season 12 performance so far.
"He's always been great, but there's just something special this season," he added.
