The Chicago P.D. actors broke out into laughter as they remembered how they met years before being co-stars on the NBC hit.
Before they were Torres and Eva on Chicago P.D., they were simply Ben and Ari, two young-up-and-coming actors in L.A.
It’s no secret that the One Chicago casts are extremely tight knit behind-the-scenes, but in Benjamin Levy Aguilar and Arienne Mandi’s case, that bond began years before they co-starred on P.D. The two first met in 2020 at Charles Cobrinha’s Jiu-Jitsu class in Los Angeles. They recounted the story in an adorable, giggly video posted to NBC’s One Chicago Instagram account.
“I’d been there a few times prior to him joining, and he joined, and he was late,” Mandi said. “He was late every single time. They we became training partners and we both realized that we were both actors, and we loved working out. So, we joined basically every gym in Los Angeles. And, yeah, just became the best of friends.”
In the clip, the two stars are sat right next to each other and can’t hold back their giggles. Aguilar continued, “And now we’re here, in Chicago P.D. The first time we did a scene together we couldn’t lock eyes because it was, like, chaos.”
“We can barely keep a straight face right now, so you can imagine us in a scene together?” Mandi added.
The rest of the cast is clearly used to their antics, as LaRoyce Hawkins (Atwater) commented, “Two kittens in a yarn basket✨ i love em.”
Arienne Mandi joins Chicago P.D. as Eva Imani
Mandi was first announced as a series regular in July 2025. At the time, Aguilar shared an extremely smiley selfie of himself and the actress with the caption, “Welcome to Chicago Ari muff! Cant wait for all of you to see her in action!”
Fans also can’t help but notice that the duo look eerily alike, with Aguilar even acknowledging, “We look like siblings.” Mandi further opened up to NBC Insider about their bond.
“We realized we have the same sense of humor, and obviously, we were both actors, so we started hanging out, helping each other with self-tapes, training a lot,” she said of their early days in the industry. “We were kind of just very kindred spirits. I guess you could say we just had a blast together and became the closest of friends.”
A couple years after they met, Aguilar was officially cast as Torres for Chicago P.D. Season 9, and Mandi was there to support him.
“I remember when he booked the show and he gave me the news, and he was so excited,” she said. “He’s like, ‘I’m moving to Chicago, it’s so crazy!’ And, you know, as friends, you always say, ‘One day we’ll work together.’ And it sort of just happened for real. Which was nuts.”
Just three years later, the 31-year-old made her P.D. debut as Officer Imani, who formerly worked under the ATF before being recruited by Voight (Jason Beghe). She’s kept her cards very close to her chest, but is incredibly focused on her job, straight-forward, and doesn’t mind bending the rules — aka perfect for the Intelligence Unit. The little personal details we have figured out? Imani speaks Farsi, moved around frequently growing up, and has an older sister who was an addict.
In her interview with NBC Insider, Mandi explained, “[Eva] comes from a military background. She’s used to working alone. Kind of travels around to different military companies. In general, she’s used to working alone and isn’t the type to be in a team environment usually.”
And as Mandi navigates this new chapter in her career, it’s an added bonus to have a familiar face around.
“It made the welcome to Chicago just that much warmer. You know what I mean?” Mandi said of already knowing Aguilar. “You never know coming onto Season 13 of a show what it’s gonna be like. And having him here was really special, because there was someone that was familiar… It was just such a great reception.”
