Toya Turner’s Kiana Cook might have just come into Intelligence this season, after the departures of Jesse Lee Soffer’s Jay Halstead and Tracy Spiridakos’ Hailey Upton, but Turner’s character has fit right in. In fact, she’s stepped into the show so seamlessly that it feels like she’s always been a part of the unit. Fangirlish talked to Turner about stepping into the role of Kiana Cook, her rather surprising backstory, her new centric episode “Name Image Likeness,” and fitting right in so quickly.
“Even though she’s been in an investigative unit, I feel like it brings her head on with these cases. She’s not just like busting into rooms or doors or buildings. You know, she’s dealing with people… like getting into a horrible car accident, or dealing with death right in front of her,” Turner shared. “And I feel like it’s something that she’s been training for. She’s not a superhero or anything, so she still gets affected by it, but she does have some experience.”
And she’s coming into a unit that has some set dynamics already, dynamics that are shifting to accommodate her, something Turner is very appreciative of. “I love the fact that not just the characters, the way they’re written, but the actors on set, they try to make sure that even with certain lines that it doesn’t make it seem like they’re trying to teach her something, or like they’re trying to be her mentor. I love the fact that they do that and they speak up about it all the time, I appreciate them so much.”
But the character is also on a journey, and it’s one Turner is discovering as we’re discovering it. “I think even though she did work with teams previously, I feel like it wasn’t the dynamic that she has now. This is really a team, you know? And that’s why I think what happened with Torres earlier in the season upset her so much, because she thought she had his trust. And that’s why it hurt so much more.”
For Turner, however, the dynamic is already set. “This is a team, and she can make mistakes and she can not get things perfect and they’ll still ride for her, and they’ll still welcome her and let her know she still has a spot here, and she’s still family.”
The actress also found herself very excited to discover Kiana Cook’s background, particularly as it was very different from what we usually see for characters like her on TV. And though she couldn’t do more than tease that we are going to touch base on Kiana’s family dynamics more, she did share in our enthusiasm for seeing a character turn out to be exactly the opposite of what we expected.
And she also shared a very fun anecdote of filming that episode alongside Patrick Flueger, who plays Adam Ruzek. “There is actually a moment that did not make the cut, and it’s in episode 9, where Paddy and I are talking in the bullpen, at the end, before they cut to me walking up to my mom’s party, and we were sitting there talking. And he was like, you know, you did a really good job today. And then there was just this one cut where he was just like, no, you really did. You belong here, and I was like, huh?”
“And I don’t know, it felt like at the time, or with this first season, it feels like Toya is finding her way as well as Kiana finding her way in the unit. I’m finding my way on the show. And so, it just made me break down completely. I love that you just so, he’s just so… what’s the word? It’s not romantic, but yeah, he’s just eloquent. That’s the word. Oh my God, he’s so sweet.”
Or perhaps Patrick Flueger knows, like we do, that Toya Turner and Kiana Cook belong in Intelligence and in Chicago P.D.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Chicago P.D. Season 12, Episode 19 ‘Name Image Likeness’? Share with us in the comments below! And if you have your own opinion on the show, leave a review/rating on our Chicago P.D. hub!
Chicago P.D. airs on Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.
