“I Love Him”: ‘Chicago Fire’ Star Discusses How Otis’ Death Continues to Shape Cruz Years Later

The fall finale episode and the winter premiere of Chicago Fire‘ Season 13 were heavily Joe Cruz (Joe Miñoso) centric. The firefighter saw a mistake from his past coming back to hunt him. Cruz had decided, in the first season of the show, to let the gang leader, Flaco (José Antonio García) die in a fire. It is a decision that is currently shaping the character’s present day. Miñoso, the actor who plays Cruz in the long-running procedural drama, has since revealed another interaction from past seasons which has helped shape the character of Cruz as we have come to know him.

In earlier seasons of the show, Miñoso’s Cruz met and developed a strong friendship with Yuri Sadarov‘s Brian “Otis” Zvonecek. After many seasons of a close brotherly bond, Otis would tragically die in the very first episode of Season 8, titled “Sacred Ground.” It was a death that hit Cruz, the Firehouse 51 crew, and fans of the show, hard. Speaking with ScreenRant in a recent interview, Miñoso explains how Otis continues to shape the journey Cruz has been on since his best friend’s passing. He reveals that Sadarov had recently visited the set of the show, highlighting the continued bond shared by both men. Miñoso’s comments read:

“My son’s name is Otis. I would say as impactful as Yuriy is to my life. Yuri and I were the last two cast on the show. Everybody had already been here for a week doing fireman camp stuff, and we came in on the last day of all of that and sort of got a crash course in everything together, so me and him have been tied at the hip since the very first episode. He’s one of my closest dearest friends and to not have him on our set—he recently visited us.

I think it was the beginning of the season. He visited the set and got to see a lot of people and it brought up a lot of old feelings and just talk about nostalgia, man. And so he’s the absolute best human. I love him. I will always love him. I think there is no Cruz without Otis. I think that the relationship we had on the show is what made us successful on the show. I think it’s what brought audiences to us. They are always one. He is the yin to my yang, for sure.“

Otis’ Death Served a Purpose

Just like Cruz, Otis was a fan-favorite character beloved by the fans of the show. Killing off the character was a big risk undertaken by the show’s creators. The decision was not one borne out of strife between Sadarov and the show’s creative minds, rather the choice was made to highlight the real risks that firefighters face every day. Executive producer Derek Haas explained the decision, saying, “We had pulled the football too many times when a person was in danger, then was saved. The audience has to be reminded that these calls are dangerous and sometimes people don’t make it.”

In the seasons that have followed, Cruz has become close to Taylor Kinney‘s Lieutenant Severide. In the aftermath of Flaco’s cousin, Junior (Richard Cabral), coming out of prison and letting Cruz know that he is aware of what he did to his cousin in Season 1. Injured from trying to extrapolate himself from this difficult position, Cruz will be keen to keep his secret from Severide, with Miñoso saying, “And that is the worst idea that he could have had because he works with a fire cop. The guy is basically an investigator who cannot stop investigating at his own peril — which is a whole other thing that I love about Taylor.”

Chicago Fire airs on Wednesdays on NBC. Stream past episodes on Peacock.