There was no indication LaRoyce Hawkins, better known to fans as Kevin Atwater, would be leaving Chicago P.D. when the 13th season concluded back in May. Then, over the Fourth of July holiday weekend came the news that he would be departing the series he has starred on since it launched, and now, that final episode has aired.
A fan-favorite and original series star ever since the show premiered with “Stepping Stone” on Jan. 8, 2014, news of Hawkins’ departure quickly became social media chatter. With no official explanation from Hawkins or NBC, speculation turned to money and cost-cutting measures across the industry. Not even until the preview of the episode that aired last week were fans made aware that the Oct. 14 episode (“Don’t Blink”) would be Atwater’s last.
The idea of Atwater leaving Chicago was floated and shot down when Karen Obilom’s Tasha Fox, a fellow officer who attended the police academy with Atwater, announced her intention to leave Chicago and join the police force in Miami in the episode of the same name last October. Fox and Atwater shared a night of passion that resulted in a pregnancy reveal in January episode “On the Way,” and an agreement that they would work on making their relationship real in “The Wicked River,” a few episodes before that season finale. At the start of season 14, the only thing that was clear in the premiere (“Demolition”) was that the baby was coming.
“Don’t Blink” starts in the hospital with the baby, a son, and Atwater and Tasha. As Atwater goes back to work dealing with a robbery, he is an attentive father, calling in during breaks and rushing to the hospital when the baby becomes sick. But he becomes deeply affected by a suspect, a father who had been absent from his son’s life. That gets Atwater thinking about what he wants not just for himself, but for his own son. His stance against the Blue Wall and systemic racism within the police force back in season eight blocked his options for promotion and a raise. In the end, he decides to relocate with Tasha and the baby from Chicago to Atlanta. And the finale in the bar, with colleagues and friends singing “He’s A Jolly Good Fellow” ends Atwater’s Chicago P.D. reign.
It was a bittersweet moment with many agreeing that the final episode was handled well.
Last year, the Chicago-area native from Harvey spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about Atwater’s evolution and expressed his gratitude, as well as discussing the pressure of representing his hometown. He also shared the honor and privilege he felt being part of the Dick Wolf universe.
Speaking with THR now, a day before his last episode aired, he said he planned to watch the hour in real time for the first time surrounded by family. Hawkins pondered Atwater’s significance and impact.
“Because I grew up watching reruns from shows that were over way before I was born, I wasn’t unaware of the impact that you can still have for generations that you’re not necessarily a part of,” he said. “So now I’m very interested in how we will rediscover and explore Atwater.”
How Chicago P.D. tackled the pandemic is of particular significance. “By the time we remind ourselves about the pandemic period and we unpack how Atwater had to be on the front line as a cop for television, and the way that the Black man and his life seem not to matter as much [then], and to play a character that had to hold the weight of both of those, at the time, I was just ready,” he shared. “I was locked in, and I don’t think I even understood then that this is going to be a capsule of a time period that is going to [represent] a significant shift in TV. It was a significant shift in the nation.
“I’ll never forget how intentional the Dick Wolf team and the powers that be in that universe were about how we told stories after the pandemic, and I was grateful to be instrumental in how we were able to tell those stories,” he added.
Then, after watching his final episode as Atwater, Hawkins took time again to speak with THR about the episode, sharing behind the scenes gems, dishing on everything from the babies who played Atwater’s son to sharing the screen with Jason Beghe one last time, the fan reaction to his exit and stacking the show’s final scene with friends and family to say goodbye.
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I was struck by the tenderness and thoughtfulness in the final episode. I don’t think we see cops presented in this light. And I really don’t think we’ve ever seen a Black cop presented like this.
I think that is something that is good to see, especially in today’s world. And when you consider all the characters that have left this show at a high level, nobody really goes out like that.
People on social media were upset when they thought Atwater got shot and might be killed off.
They had to throw that in there just to throw people off. That was crazy. Yeah, my mama was tweaking. My big sister was mad. I was like, Nah, everything is going to work out.
While the episode was really strong in showing how fatherhood can change a man, how parenthood changes a person, it also showed how this other man’s regrets as a father inspires even more responsibility and care in Atwater.
That was the part that got me. I remember when I made notes for the episode before we really got into it. After I read [the script] a few times, one of the things I said was that what I see is this father was absent in his son’s life, and how that affected his son. I see how it’s affecting him. I said, “We don’t really need the bullet. I understand the bullet because you want to be dramatic, but I don’t want it to be the bullet that [connects the dots for Atwater]. I want the case to have a handle [or impact] on me, and for my opinion to reflect, Oh I can have it all. I think I trust Tasha Fox. I think I feel like my son’s going to be amazing.” Could you tell that wasn’t a boy?
The baby?
Yeah, my son was played by girls.
Well, they were so cute.
The babies were great.
Speaking of babies, we don’t often see fathers showing up at the hospital when the baby is sick. It was tiny things we don’t see represented, that we almost never see represented for a Black father.
That wasn’t a bad way to go. I was proud of it.
What did you feel when you were filming it?
To be honest, there were moments, especially at the beginning of filming, where I had to isolate myself because everybody knew it was my last episode. Imagine the crew and the cast, like everybody, trying to throw in their last conversations or create that last impression. That was throwing me off, because I’m trying to cook on what we got going. I learned that after the first day of shooting. When I noticed people were going to try to take those windows, I was off to the side. I’m pretty social on set, because there’s an energy I like to try to maintain. I like to hop around and engage with people, and I couldn’t really do that because I couldn’t afford to.
It was the second episode back after a strong hiatus, and it really takes four or five episodes to get warmed up for a season like Chicago P.D. When you’re doing 20 something episodes, you don’t really get warm until episode six. So for us to still just be on [episode] two, I was trying to get my bearings back. I had to isolate myself from distractions.
But I was confident because Jesse [Lee Soffer who played Halstead until exiting in season 10] directed it, and Jesse gave me one of the best notes I’ve probably had since I’ve been on the show. He was like, “Bro, are you hyper aware of yourself? I was like, “Yeah, low key, I am.” And he was like, “You got to stop that. You can’t be so aware of yourself because sometimes I can see you editing your performance within the performance. You have to block out LaRoyce Hawkins’ thoughts and focus on the Atwater’s thoughts.”
You can’t tell me to trust myself. Directors, sometimes [are] like, “Yo, just trust yourself.” But I can trust myself too much, and I can forget there’s a world to get lost in. So it felt great shooting with Jesse directing, because every day was like a masterclass on being specific in the character thoughts. Sometimes the LaRoyce Hawkins thoughts and the character’s thoughts aren’t always aligned. So I was confident that the episode was going to be okay because I remember working hard on set on that.
Shooting it was dope, but it was also bittersweet because certain scenesm, I knew it was going to be my last scene in the bullpen. The last scene that I shot was this scene with me and Sarge [Jason Beghe who plays Sargeant Hank Voight] in his office.
How was that experience character to character with Atwater and Voight, but also actor to actor with you and Jason Beghe?
It was emotional sometimes, to be honest with you. I didn’t even realize until I looked at [the episode] that it looks like I might cry. But that’s how I felt in the moment. To be honest, it was like, Damn, dude. It was my last scene with Sarge. I love Sarge. So the conversation paralleled what was going on with the character and with myself, which was cool. Sarge saying that I can do anything, that I deserve it all, all of those moments felt like it really reflected our real relationship sometimes, and I could tell he was getting emotional sometimes, too. But we just made sure it was fun. That scene was less on paper. I’m not going to say we put humor in it, but we did find moments where it felt real. Like when [Atwater] was like, “Why didn’t you give them my name?” [And Sarge was] like, “Well, I ain’t wanna lose you.”
So there were more smiles on that day we discovered that weren’t on the page at first. [The original scene] almost felt too dramatic. It felt like a scene where I was being dismissed, and we didn’t want it to feel like that. We were able to make some adjustments. Then on the actual [last] day, I had my family and a bunch of close friends pull up. As soon as I was done shooting, a whole bunch of [folks] swarmed the set. It was like I heard trumpets and chants. Everybody marched out. It was pretty dope.
You said that scene with Sarge was the last one you shot. How did it feel when you filmed the finale in the bar and everyone is telling Atwater, including his boy Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger), one-half of Ruzwater, how much he and you have meant?
That was a dope day. I made sure I filled that scene with homies. That’s what helped it feel so real. I had a big homie fly into Chicago from New York just to be in the background for that scene. I had one of my big homies, Raekwon [Neighbors], he owns the best daycare centers [Raekwon’s Scholastic Daycare Academy] in Cook County, back there. I just filled it with friends. I had my niece in the scene because I wanted real energy, camaraderie, togetherness and family to come through. It wasn’t the last scene we shot. I think we might have shot maybe day three or day four. So it didn’t feel like it was hard to try to conjure up that last moment type of energy because it wasn’t the last moment. I filled the space with loved ones. And that was the best part about that scene, seeing my homies behind me. Seventy-five percent of them were actually friends, and not just background extras.
I imagine knowing that that scene was the ultimate destination helped with the other scenes because you knew where you were going.
Yeah. Even when I look at the performance, I could tell I was a little bit more locked in and a lot more specific about where I was going and coming from. The episode itself isn’t the most dynamic, but it felt grounded and I was prepared, which is what I like about my final performance. It was real. It wasn’t over the top. But I don’t think anything underwhelmed you, either. It felt pretty solid across the board.
I also like that it felt logical. It felt like, okay, my life has changed. I’m making different decisions, and what I wanted before is not what I want now, because I’m not thinking about just myself. And because I live in Atlanta and am from Chicago, I was thinking to myself, oh, it’s crazy that he’s coming to Atlanta. Especially when it was potentially Miami before.
It’s crazy because I’m actually in Atlanta right now. It’s so funny, but it’s so real.
What do you think of the ship name “Foxwater” for Tasha Fox and Kevin Atwater?
I came up with that.
You did?
Yeah. What a lot of people don’t know is I came up with all the names. I was the one who started Burgewater [Atwater’s name merged with partner Kim Burgess, who is now married to Ruzek]. I was the first one to be like, yo, let’s just put our names together, because I felt like Atwater was just dope; you can put anything before “water” and make it sound cool. Burgewater was the first one I came up with. Foxwater was easy. I like Tasha Fox [portrayed by Karen Obilom] a lot. I think she was proud of me. She was my personal favorite love interest. I know everybody had their opinions about them all, but I think she was the best one. I think we got it right when we found her.
I think also that Atwater and Tasha are evenly yoked. They both understand what the job is and where they both come from. Tasha Fox seems like the most compatible woman for Atwater.
Yeah.
Social media reacted very well to the episode itself, with many people agreeing it was beautiful. Some people did share that since Atwater is gone, they are, too; that they would try the show out next week to see what they were doing after Atwater. What are your thoughts?
I’ve been hearing a lot of that, too. And it’s hard because I love the show. I’m a fan of the show minus myself, but it’s because of myself that I’m a part of the show. So there’s a part of me that’s like, yeah, y’all ain’t gotta watch that shit no more. And then there’s a part of me that does want to see the show grow still. Actually it confirms the fact that Atwater is a true vibe [and a] part of the fabric of the show that makes it good. You don’t always know that you’re doing that.
It seems like there is potential in an Atwater show in starting over in Atlanta. Aside from Will Trent, there is no other cop show or procedural based in Atlanta.
I could try it.
Watching the Celeste episodes with Amanda Payton, Atwater seemed kind of dirty to me. Not telling her he was a cop when a case came up involving her and her students didn’t seem right. And then in other episodes, there were so many times when I didn’t always agree with Atwater’s actions, even though it may be part of the job.
You said you haven’t always agreed with Atwater?
Yeah, especially going back through the episodes, I just wasn’t cool with a lot of his actions.
I haven’t been either. And that was a struggle for me too as an actor. Because Atwater is a cop, sometimes the hard part for me was wrapping my mind around how a cop would think and what a cop’s opinions would be. And that didn’t always align with what LaRoyce would do. But that’s why LaRoyce isn’t Atwater. I would infuse and texturize Atwater with what made sense for LaRoyce. Whether it was empathy or some humor here, or I would drop in moments that made sense. But Atwater’s a cop, so you know his opinion would probably disagree with the average Black person based on his intentions to protect and serve.
In the final moments of the episode when Atwater makes his decision, I thought back to when he was with the psychologist Val Soto [Natalee Louise Linez] and she told him he didn’t make time for himself. I think in this final moment with Atwater, we see him finally doing what he needed to do for himself.
He put himself first obviously because of his family. And you gotta understand Atwater lost his family once upon a time because of the job, and he wasn’t willing to do that this time.
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Chicago P.D. airs on NBC Wednesday nights at 10pm ET as part of the One Chicago Block that includes Chicago Med and Chicago Fire.