Patrick John Flueger has played Adam Ruzek for over a decade on Chicago P.D. The show has put the character through the wringer all those years, surviving death multiple times. In Chicago P.D. Season 12, Episode 2, Ruzek finds himself in a tough situation when a friend of his is killed, leading to a manhunt for the culprit throughout Chicago. John Flueger talked to The Hollywood Reporter about the episode and what was happening in Ruzek's mind. He also revealed that with Ruzek, he doesn't need to look far for inspiration. The actor said he talks to many police officers and listens to their stories. "They’ve all got stories. Talking to these cats and the idea of waking up and doing what they do every day is pretty wild. I get struck by it," he said. However, he pinpointed Brian Luce, a producer on Chicago P.D. who was a cop for several decades before becoming a consultant on the show. He talked about Luce's inspiration, saying,
"Brian Luce, one of the producers on our show, and he was a cop for 21 years. When we started, he was our tech guy. He was the dude who made sure we were doing it right, who reinforced the reality of things. He’s the heartbeat of the show, and one of the best dudes I’ve ever met. When I met him, I was like, 'Well, I’m just going be Brian Luce.' And that’s what I’ve been doing for the last 12 years, just trying to be as much like Luce as possible every time they say Action."
Martel's Death Shakes Up Ruzek's World In Chicago P.D. Season 12
Martel's death happens so quickly it shocks Ruzek to the core. It takes him a while to come to terms with the fact that she's dead. "It wasn’t written, but we always do a call out for 12 years now. It’s: 'Atwater, you good?', 'Kim, you good?' We always do this call out, and in 12 years, I don’t know about everybody else’s storyline, but for me it’s the first time that I said, 'Martel, you good?' and there was no response," John Flueger told the publication about the uniqueness of the situation. "I think that was the first time in 12 years that I’ve called out and nobody responded. And I think that was the whole episode for me. She just never said anything back," he continued.
Speaking to TV Insider, showrunner Gwen Sigan previewed how important this development is. Martel's death "felt thematically like the perfect story and that it would also trigger all the themes we want to tell this year, which are kind of identity and self and crisis of self and transformation and all these things that you think about a lot when you’re thinking about your own mortality," she said. This event triggers his desire to grab life by the horns and marry his fiancée, Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati).
Watch how Adam's story plays out this season in all-new episodes of Chicago P.D. Catch up with past seasons on Peacock.
