Sophia Bush has been playing Erin Lindsay on NBC’s “Chicago P.D.” for two seasons now. As a member of the CPD’s Intelligence Unit and a recovering alcoholic, Lindsay has proven to be one of the “Chicago Fire” spinoff’s most interesting characters.
This season saw the death of Lindsay’s friend and co-worker Nadia in a crossover event with “Chicago Fire” and “Law & Order: SVU.” Lindsay’s subsequent downward spiral and her return to hitting the bottle left her in a bad place by season’s end. The finale saw her turning in her badge and announcing her resignation from the force in a major cliffhanger for the series.
In an interview with TheWrap, Bush talked about making the arc believable, doing her own stunts and live tweeting the show with fans.
TheWrap: What was the toughest thing you had to do this season? Sophia Bush: The toughest thing I had to do this season was having Erin unravel in such an extreme way very quickly following the death of her friend. I had to wrap my head around her behaving in ways that she spent a lot of her life walking away from. And from those kinds of habits. I had to create an arc that made a backslide so drastic make sense for me, and hopefully for the audience.
What was the most fun?
By far one of the coolest things I got to do all year was film this high speed chase across Lake Street in Chicago. We had about a mile of the street shut down. It’s usually teams of stunt drivers doing the driving, but they’ve all gotten to know me, and they know that I’ve become quite the amateur race car driver myself. And they let me do all of my own stunt driving on the show.
If someone had never seen “Chicago P.D.,” what would you say to persuade them to watch it?
This ain’t your dad’s cop show. You’re missing a really gritty and layered and adrenalized and complicated look at the people we consider to be our heroes and our anti-heroes. It’s a hell of a lot of fun.
Who else on your show really deserves an Emmy and why?
I think everyone is doing such great work. Brian Geraghty, Jesse Soffer, Jason Beghe, all of the guys, really… I feel the same way about Elias. I think Elias Koteas is one of the great gifts to our group of actors. He’s so talented, and I really have so much fun in big scenes just watching him work.
Are you a binge-watcher? Or do you like to watch one episode a week?
It depends on the show. With “Orphan Black,” I watch every week because I don’t want anything to be spoiled. When I’m watching “Orange Is the New Black” or “House of Cards,” I’m totally binging. And I’ll tell myself I’m going to watch three episodes, but then seven hours later, I’ve powered through more than half the season and I know that I need to get off the couch…
The reason I love live TV-watching is because I have so much fun with the social media aspect of it. I have so much fun tweeting with the fans and seeing immediate reactions to what’s happening on screen. I know that when something major happens and my phone crashes, our fans have literally crashed my Twitter. That’s such a cool experience and I wouldn’t have that if we weren’t all watching live together.
If you could add any new category to the Emmys, serious or silly, what would it be?
There’s honestly two. I think there should be an Emmy for Best Ensemble. There’s so much good ensemble television out there right now. And I know that for me, the men and women that I work with, they’re my real life squad. They’re my people. And I know that a lot of shows are in that boat. All of these people say, “Hey, an ensemble really deserves to be honored here.”
I also think there should be a special Emmy created just for [“Orphan Black” actress]Tatiana Maslany. An award for an ensemble all played by one person, because she should win that award every year, forever.
TheWrap's Emmy Party: Stars of 'Empire,' 'Silicon Valley,' 'American Crime,' 'Jane the Virgin' (Photos)
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"American Crime" creator John Ridley
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"Silicon Valley" stars Thomas Middleditch and Kumail Nanjiani
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The London Hotel in West Hollywood
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"Empire" star Kaitlin Doubleday
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"American Horror Story" star Finn Wittrock
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Justin Baldoni and Jaime Camil
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"Modern Family" executive producer Christopher Lloyd
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TheWrap's cover star "American Crime's" Richard Cabral and guest with Elvis Nolasco
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"Chasing Life" star Richard Brancatisano
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"Dark Matter" star Marc Bendavid
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"Jane the Virgin" stars Jaime Camil, Yael Groblas, and Justin Baldoni
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"Scandal" star Joe Morton
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"Power" creator and executive producer Courtney Kemp Agboh
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"Justified" star Joelle Carter and Danielle Panabaker
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"The Flash" star Danielle Panabaker
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"The Flash" star Rick Cosnett
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"Rectify" star Abigail Spencer
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"The Flash" Danielle Panabaker and "The Originals" Leah Pipes
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"Modern Family" creator Christopher Lloyd and son Eli
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"The Slap" star Michael Nouri and "Bosch" star Titus Welliver
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"The Night Shift" star Robert Bailey Jr. and Christina Smith
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"American Crime" star Elvis Nolasco
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"You're the Worst" stars Kether Donohue and Desmin Borges
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"American Crime" creator John Ridley and "Being Mary Jane" star Stephen Bishop
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TheWrap Editor in Chief Sharon Waxman, "Empire" star Kaitlin Doubleday, and Executive Editor Joseph Kaspch
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MySpace Founder and present CEO of SGN Chris DeWolfe
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"Survivor's Remorse" Erica Ash and "Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll" star Elaine Hendrix
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Wrap's Editor in Chief Sharon Waxman and executive editor Joseph Kapsch flanked by "Jane the Virgin" stars Yael Grobglas, Justin Baldoni and Jaime Camil
"Complications" star Lauren Stamile and Beth Riesgraf
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"American Crime" star Richard Cabral
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"UnREAL" star Breeda Wool
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"Jane the Virgin" star Yael Grobglas
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"Bosch" star Jason Gedrick
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"Wet Hot American Summer" creator David Wain
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"Power" star Lela Loren
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"Jane the Virgin" stars Justin Baldoni, Anthony Mendez, and Jaime Camil
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Disney Channel "Teen Beach Movie 2" John DeLuca
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"The Expanse" Cas Anvar and "Homeland" and "Blood and Oil" star Shaun Toub
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"Being Mary Jane" star Stephen Bishop
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"Silicon Valley" star Suzanne Cryer
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"Jane the Virgin" Yael Grobglas
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"Ballers" star Donovan Carter
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"Empire's" Kaitlin Doubleday and "Episodes" Mircea Monroe
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"Jane the Virgin" stars Justin Baldoni and Jaime Camil smooch TheWrap Editor in Chief Sharon Waxman
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"Sex&Drugs&RocknRoll's'" Elaine Hendrix, "Better Call Saul's" Patrick Fabian, "Dark Matter's" Marc Bendavid, "Chasing Life's" Richard Brancatisano and "Complications" actresses Beth Riesgraf and Lauren Stamile gather for a group shot
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"The Last Ship" star Travis Van Winkle
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"black-ish" star Jeff Meacham
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"Homeland" star Shaun Toub
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"The Expanse" star Cas Anvar
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"The Fosters" star Keean Johnson
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"Better Call Saul" star Patrick Fabian
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"Ray Donovan" star Kerris Dorsey
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"Survivor's Remorse" star Erica Ash
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DJ Resin Eight
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"The Comeback" star Robert Michael Morris
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"How to Get Away With Murder" composer Rupert Parkes and guest
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Elaine Hendrix and Patrick Fabian
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"Survivor's Remorse" Erica Ash and "Ray Donovan's" Pooch Hall
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TV industry players celebrate the best in television on the rooftop of London Hotel in West Hollywood at 2nd annual event