With presents wrapped and ready to go a year ahead, you won’t catch the Chicago P.D. star missing any special occasion.
When it comes to the holidays or big events, One Chicago star Marina Squerciati might just be the ultimate gift giver.
In May 2021, Chicago Med’s Nick Gehlfuss, Chicago Fire’s Joe Minoso, and Chicago P.D.’s Squerciati hopped on a video chat to share some fun-filled One Chicago fun facts. During their trivia game, Gehfuss read off a series of facts for them all to guess who they belonged to, eventually unwrapping Squerciati’s status as a present-preparing mastermind.
“Alright. Here we go,” Gelfuss rallied before reading the three prompts: “‘I like to do woodworking,’ ‘I lived in Chicago prior to being on One Chicago,’ and ‘I have all my Christmas presents and friends’ birthday presents wrapped up and ready to go a full year ahead of time.'”
While some of the prompts perplexed the cast members, it didn’t take long for Gehlfuss and Minoso to swap a look and deduce which of the One Chicago cast members was a Santa in training.
“Marina, that’s you,” Gehlfuss said confidently.
“Oh, yeah,” Minoso said. “Big time. Big time.”
Instead of denying the allegations, Squerciati panned the camera to her “John Malkovich door,” A.K.A. a small utility closet that she uses as her trove for hidden presents. “Inside of that door is just presents,” Squerciati informed her cast mates with a smile.
Nick Gehlfuss and Joe Minoso were amazed by Marina Squerciati’s gift-giving system
“A year in advance,” Minoso said. “That’s amazing. I love that you’re actually giving us the visual.” Minoso was tickled, but he had some logistical questions for his P.D. friend.
“You pack all of these gifts. So, what happens if you find, like, a better wrapping paper that’s more appropriate for that person in that given year?” Minoso pondered. “Or a better gift even, for that matter?”
“Then it’ll go to the next year,” Squerciati said without missing a beat. But the Chicago Fire star remained astonished.
“So, some time, at some point, for example, when I get a Christmas gift from you, it could’ve maybe been from, like, five Christmases ago?” Minoso asked.
“Yes,” Squerciati confirmed, sharing a humorous anecdote of this very scenario. “I actually bought Nick’s wife her present about a year ago, and I wrapped them up, and then my mom was like, ‘Do those age well?’ And I was like, ‘Actually, I don’t know.’ And I had to Google it.”
“Wow. See? Okay. See?” an impressed Minoso said. “We’re learning things.”
“When you live on the edge, listen, I’m like the James Bond [of gift-giving],” Squerciati joked.
“On the very organized edge,” Minoso laughed.
Joe Minoso called Marina Squerciati the “queen of self-deprecating humor”
As if Squerciati’s preternatural organizational skills weren’t impressive enough, she’s also an artist in her spare time. After continuing the game, they read off another string of fun facts, one of which read, “I like to watercolor, and I’m terrible.”
“Let’s see here,” Minoso said. “Well, clearly — and this is just because of tone and ending with ‘I’m terrible’ — I’m gonna say the watercoloring is Marina.”
“Um, ending with ‘I’m terrible’ is a dead giveaway for Marina?” the P.D. fan favorite asked incredulously.
“It’s not the ‘terrible’ part,” Minoso clarified with a laugh. “It’s the fact that you ended by saying it. You’re, like, the queen of self-deprecating humor.”
Still stuck on the slip-of-the-tongue wording, Squerciati teased, “As a human being with ears listening, this is what I heard: ‘Since you ended with I’m terrible, I’m gonna have to go with Marina.'”
“I’m just saying that you clearly understand your brand, and that’s what you’re bringing, and it’s awesome,” Minoso encouraged.
“Marina, I’ve seen your watercoloring, and I don’t think it’s terrible,” Gehlfuss added, showing his friend some love for her artistic endeavors.
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