The women of Chicago Fire just have this magic about them. Hanako Greensmith is no exception. Though she’s the newest member of the Chicago Fire cast, she fits right in. You get that sense as soon as you start talking to her. She radiates warmth, and kindness, same as her character, Violet. That’s probably the biggest reason fans were ecstatic to hear Greensmith was joining the cast as a series regular for season 10.
And the good thing is, as happy as fans were, Hanako was right there with them. We had a chance to talk to her to preview the tenth season of Chicago Fire, and the first thing we discussed was, of course, stepping into the role, and getting to work with this cast.
“It’s been super exciting, and it’s been wonderfully comfortable,” she told us, two adjectives that seem contradictory, but that in this case, make a lot of sense. “I’m so familiar with everybody already,” she continued, so “it’s been really great to kind of just dive in and get to explore more of what the writers are planning for Violet, and for the group dynamics.”
One particular dynamic Hanako was eager to discuss was the one between Violet and Sylvie, and of course, between her and Kara Killmer. “It’s been such a dream,” she shared, “and so easy. We really hit it off from the second we worked together in a more serious capacity; it was just so easy to connect with one another.”
You can tell, really. One of the best things about the ambo dynamics in the latter half of season 9 was how well Sylvie and Violet worked together, and how much their personalities sort of …clicked.
“It was really nice that they gave us more material to flesh out our relationship, to kinda bring that to light all of the care that already exists in our own personal friendship,” Greensmith continued, as she reiterated that “getting to flesh that out has been so wonderfully easy, honestly, and I’ve loved every second of it.”
Isn’t that the best kind of dynamics – both for characters, and actors? The kind that feels easy?
But Hanako doesn’t want it to stop at just Violet and Sylvie, she wants more, as do I. And because I can always be counted to bring Stella Kidd into it, I had to bring up the dynamics between the new trio of women in the firehouse. Greensmith was pretty much on the same page. “I feel like an exciting part of getting to work with Violet a little bit more is being able to see her interact with the women in the firehouse,” she said. “Obviously the relationship she has with Gallo, and Ritter, which I absolutely love to do, is great, but it’s very different seeing the kind of female power” that these shows are so very good at showing.
“I love Miranda in real life, as well, she’s a huge inspiration for me.” Greensmith continued, in case you thought the lovefest was over. “When I have time with her one on one, or with Kara one on one, and then together at work, it’s just such a dream come true that we get to come together and have a moment of connection, it’s really special.”
For me, this leads to the larger One Chicago universe, and what other characters Hanako would like to see Violet interact with. “Honestly, getting the opportunity to interact with Trudy Platt was a dream come true for me,” she confessed, adding that it was really great to see how “Violet would react to such a powerful, confident, headstrong, doesn’t-take-BS kind of woman.”
But Greensmith would like to go even further, and we would absolutely sign in for what she wants. No, seriously, how do we make this happen? “Marina from Chicago P.D would also be a dream, as well,” she went on. “She plays this badass, confident, driven woman, and that’s a huge prevailing theme for the women in the One Chicago shows, so getting to see any two powerhouses interact is always a dream come true.”
We’ve been asking for a Ladies Night episode where the women team up for a while, now. And the actresses want it too. Get it done, One Chicago.
For Hanako looking at these fictional women has been, in some ways, a personal inspiration. “I definitely find some comfort in hiding behind Violet’s confidence,” she shared, “because as a character she’s a lot more confident in what she is and what she can do.”
Which doesn’t mean she isn’t interested on peeling back the layers of who Violet is, on the contrary. “I really want to see her be more openly vulnerable, because I know that obviously behind” someone so confident “there usually lies something a little more poignant, or something more delicate, and I would love to see her kind of have to grapple with something on those terms, just so we can see a little bit more of what makes her her, so we can get her to understand more of why she is the way she is.”
“Not to say that every confident woman has trauma, but behind every confident woman there is a soft spot, and I hope to see that from Violet this season.”
So do we.
And not just in a possible romantic way, either, though Hanako did share that she finds the relationship between Violet and Gallo to be “a very wonderful, surprising, and yet unsurprising thing.” She went on to explain. It “makes so much sense when you really look at these characters why they’re kind of attracted to one another, why it somehow strangely works and it doesn’t, at the same time.”
Where is that going? Greensmith wouldn’t say, but she did tell us that she has “gotten a lot closer to Alberto and Daniel this season, because we’ve been working together more, and I love them both to death.”
Even though she singled out Alberto and Daniel, and earlier Kara and Miranda, there’s something special about this show, about the dynamics between everyone – on and off camera – and Greensmith is very clear about that.
This is “an amazing show, because it focuses so much on the relationships within the firehouse, and so much of what kind of makes these people people, so it’s really great to see how they kind of interlace and weave in all these things.”
“It’s kind of special to see it all kind of come together at the end of the day.”
We couldn’t agree more. And after this interview, we couldn’t be more excited about what the future has in store for Chicago Fire, and for Violet Mikami.
Are you excited for Chicago Fire season 10? Share with us in the comments below!
Chicago Fire returns to NBC Wednesday September 22nd.
