Before he became the tough-as-nails Sergeant Hank Voight on Chicago P.D., Jason Beghe had already spent decades carving out one of Hollywood’s most intriguing careers. With his gravelly voice, steely gaze, and natural authority, Beghe feels tailor-made for the role that made him famous—but his path to the One Chicago universe was a long and fascinating one.
Born and raised in New York City, Jason Beghe began his acting career in the mid-1980s, starting small but aiming high. His first big-screen appearance came in Compromising Positions (1985), a crime-comedy that put him alongside established names and gave him a taste of the business. Just a few years later, he earned his first starring role in George A. Romero’s Monkey Shines (1988), a psychological thriller that allowed Beghe to flex serious emotional range. The film may have been a cult favorite, but it proved that Beghe had the chops to carry a movie on his own.
In 1991, he made a brief but unforgettable appearance in Ridley Scott’s iconic Thelma & Louise, playing a police officer in one of the film’s most memorable moments. That same decade saw him moving fluidly between film and television, taking on diverse roles that showed just how versatile he could be.
Television, in particular, became Beghe’s second home. He popped up in Picket Fences, Melrose Place, Chicago Hope, and To Have and To Hold — each time adding grit and gravity to his characters. In Melrose Place, his portrayal of Lieutenant Jeff Lindley earned praise for grounding the show’s melodrama with authentic emotion. Later, guest roles on series like CSI, Castle, Veronica Mars, Everwood, and Numb3rs kept him visible to audiences who appreciated his quiet intensity.
But life wasn’t all smooth sailing. In 1999, Beghe suffered a devastating car accident that left him in a coma for weeks. When he recovered, his voice had permanently deepened—a transformation that would later become one of his most recognizable traits. Ironically, the accident helped shape the very persona that would define Hank Voight years later: a man weathered by experience, but impossible to break.
Beghe’s film work also deserves more credit than it often gets. His supporting role in G.I. Jane (1997), opposite Demi Moore, demonstrated his ability to bring realism and emotional weight to military drama. By the time he appeared in Californication in the late 2000s, Beghe had mastered the art of playing complex men who lived in moral gray areas—a perfect warm-up for what was to come.
Then came 2012, when he first appeared as Hank Voight in Chicago Fire. The character was initially written as an antagonist, but Beghe’s layered performance turned him into one of TV’s most compelling antiheroes. That breakout led to Chicago P.D. in 2014—and the rest, as fans know, is history.
