If you’ve seen the Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 17 premiere, you know that before the BAU ever finds out they have to work with Elias Voit, Agent Rossi is already battling the Voit inside his own head. Call it hallucinations, a haunting — whatever you want — but this dynamic is fascinating to watch unfold. But we know JJ and Luke have each had their individual turns interrogating the serial killer in his cell. Which means it’s safe to assume Dave will also interact with the real Voit at some point. So, when we interviewed Joe Mantegna and Zach Gilford during pre-season press, we were really interested in breaking those layers down and seeing how the actors approached their characters’ two kinds of interactions.
As the expert on Voit, Gilford told us to look for him to be “a little more mellow” during the hallucinations. “He’s still messing with [Rossi], but it’s kind of calm because it’s his internal thing. On the other hand, “real life Voit, when they get to interact — and this is real life Voit with everyone — is kind of very clearly trying to get under everyone’s skin and push all their buttons.” He also teased that, as the “real” Voit interacts with various members of the BAU throughout Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 17, “the interactions between Voit and the different team members” will be “very specific to how they go.” The actor gave “a credit to the writers” for that development.
But, to get back to this specific pairing…Mantegna described Rossi and Voit’s dynamic as going “from the ridiculous to the sublime, in a way, and back again.” Because “on one hand, you’ve got…somebody who was such a major threat, in terms of villains I’ve had to face in my career, versus somebody who’s also, you know, has got that, like [Gilford] said, that getting under your skin side of him.”
Mantegna reminded us Rossi has “run the gamut with [Voit]. I mean, here’s a character that, as of the end of last season, buried me underground in a vault…and it, for all intents and purposes, looked like that was going to be the end of David Rossi.” (Thankfully, it was not the end.) But what do these visions of the UNSUB who almost ended him mean to Dave? Is Voit voicing his inner doubts? Maybe playing a (very messed up) version of his conscience of sorts, like when Rossi doesn’t quite believe the killer in Episode 2 is Gold Star but has yet to tell Prentiss? Does it depend on the moment?
Mantegna likened Rossi’s hallucinations of Voit to what he’s seen when working with members of the U.S. military. “A lot of them suffer” from “versions of PTSD and things like that,” he told us, noting “this is…almost a clinical case.” And “knowing the ego that David Rossi has, he’s in ultimate denial” of how bad his situation really is. But he’s “going to have to deal with it” this season.
As their story unfolds, which version of Rossi and Voit’s dynamic do the actors prefer to play? Both agreed it’s much better when their characters get to go head to head in “real” life. “I personally prefer all the face to face stuff,” Mantegna told us. Why? “Because when we get into the hallucinatory thing, I’m kind of at a definite disadvantage.” Gilford’s reasoning for preferring face to face “as opposed to the ghostly stuff”? Well, that’s pretty easy, too. “I mean, I’m essentially just a voice that’s in his head. So, you know, he doesn’t even look at me ever. This guy…he just tries to ignore me. That’s not fun — it’s rude.”
Watch our interview with Joe Mantegna and Zach Gilford here.
We had one more question for the actors. But we’re saving that answer for a little bit closer to a future episode’s air date. So, stay tuned for part 2 in a few weeks.
Don’t miss Zach Gilford and Joe Mantegna in Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 17. New episodes release each Thursday on Paramount+.
