The Season 14 newcomer is hiding more than bravery beneath the uniform. Watch Chicago Fire on NBC.
Chicago Fire newcomer Sal Vasquez arrives at Firehouse 51 in Season 14 with more than just expert firefighting skills. Brandon Larracuente tells NBC Insider that his new character comes with layers waiting to be peeled back.
Firehouse 51 is set for some exciting shakeups in Season 14, and as Larracuente prepares to make his One Chicago debut as the new firefighter, he reveals that there’s more to Vasquez than meets the eye. Ahead of the Season 14 premiere of Chicago Fire, airing October 1 on NBC, Larracuente chatted with NBC Insider about the thrills of joining the Firehouse 51 family, teasing that Sal Vasquez shows up at the station ready to make an impact, even if his confidence might be misread as cockiness.
Read more about Larracuente’s mysterious new firefighter making his way to Firehouse 51, below:
Brandon Larracuente says Sal Vasques’ confidence can “rub people the wrong way”
The Firehouse 51 family is a tight-knit crew, so anytime a new first responder joins their ranks, you can bet that newcomer is tasked with gaining 51’s trust. Larracuente’s Sal Vasquez will undergo a similar indoctrination in Season 14.
Larracuente reveals that Vasquez comes from a family of law enforcers; his father was a police officer, and it shaped his own upbringing in many ways that viewers will “find out throughout the season.” But what fans will notice immediately about Vasquez is that the dude has confidence for days.
“Sal is really confident in his ability to be a firefighter. He’s extremely sure of himself,” Larracuente tells us. “He knows how to do his job. So he knows sometimes that can rub people the wrong way. ‘Cause when he has a lot of self-assurance, that can be mistaken for cockiness.”
“But as the characters in the show get to learn more and more about Sal, they’ll realize that there’s a reason for it, the way he carries himself,” Larracuente adds.
Brandon Larracuente talks peeling back “the layers” of Sal Vasquez
Larracuente explains the Chicago Fire writers leaned into Vasquez’s hidden complexity while tackling Season 14, referring to his character as “an onion.”
“Because on the surface, he may appear a certain way,” Larracuente says. “But as the season progresses, that self-assurance in himself starts to break because of the things that are happening around him. He’s trying to maintain the composure on the exterior that everybody sees.”
“But when you deal with things like family issues and you deal with things like relationships in the firehouse and all those things, you start to crumble as a human being,” Larracuente adds. “And it’s nice to see the other characters in the show lift him up.”
It sounds like Vasquez will need to work to gain the trust of his colleagues, but he’ll earn the support of his Firehouse 51 family once they uncover those hidden layers.
“I feel like the writers are really leaning into [the drama] this season, especially when thinking about my character,” Larracuente says. “As we start to learn more, peel back the layers, per se, of my character, it starts to bleed and affect the other characters in the show. So I think that’s really interesting.”
Don’t miss Sal Vasquez’ arrival by watching Chicago Fire Season 14
Chihards won’t want to miss Larracuente’s explosive arrival as Sal Vasquez. Watch the Season 14 premiere of Chicago Fire on Wednesday, October 1, at 9/8c on NBC for the return of One Chicago Wednesdays.
Chicago Med Season 11 kicks off the premiere event at 8/7c, followed by Chicago Fire at 9/8c, and concluding with the Season 13 premiere of Chicago P.D. at 10/9c. All new One Chicago episodes are available to stream the day after they air on Peacock.
