The mid-season premiere, “A Favor,” saw Cruz deal with the aftermath of Junior’s threat to his career. Star Joe Miñoso teases that the storyline will continue throughout upcoming episodes, but draw to a conclusion before the One Chicago crossover on January 29. The highly-anticipated event marks the first time all three series have crossed over in six years, and Miñoso shares his excitement over working with fellow Chicago cast members.
ScreenRant interviews Miñoso about Junior’s release from prison, whether Cruz still wants to be a lieutenant, and the lasting impact Otis has on his character in Chicago Fire season 13.
Cruz Will Find Himself In “Hot Water” In Chicago Fire Season 13
“He’s going to get tangled up in a big old mess, but let’s hope he comes out the other side of it.”
ScreenRant: How will Cruz handle Junior’s release from prison and the subsequent confrontation with him during the fall finale?
Joe Miñoso: Poorly. He’s going to make some decisions that really put him in some hot water, and then the ramifications of that are going to really show up in Episode 10. Cruz is, and always will be, concerned about protecting his family first and foremost, and he will go to any lengths to do that. And so unfortunately he’s going to get tangled up in a big old mess, but let’s hope he comes out the other side of it. I will say it will not be unscathed.
Is this a storyline we’ll see continue to play out during the latter half of the season?
Joe Miñoso: You’ll see this storyline kind of find its conclusion before the crossover, but yes, it will go on for a bit.
Cruz decided against taking the lieutenant test so that he could stay at Firehouse 51. Is there still a part of him that wants to be a lieutenant? Where is his head right now?
Joe Miñoso: I think, especially after becoming a father and now really having a taste for leadership, he’s been the acting lieutenant on Squad 3 for a couple of years now, that’s always in the back of his mind, especially as a father who has to take care of two kids who will hopefully end up going to college one day. Money is always a thing he’s thinking about, but I think, right now, there was some great stuff between Severide and Cruz early on in the season that I think brought them closer together.
I think Cruz just wanted to feel in that moment when he was talking about taking the test and leaving the firehouse. I think he just wanted to feel needed or wanted. He felt a little bit like he was disrespected for the work that he did when Severide wasn’t around. He feels that those wounds have mended between him and Severide. Right now, he’s, I think, happy to stay. He’s a family guy. He loves his family, he loves to be around his family, and 51 is, without a doubt, his family.
Miñoso Wants Safety And Security For Cruz In Chicago Fire
“I want him to be safe, and I want him to feel like he’s been a successful father.”
What are your thoughts? What do you want for Cruz’s future and his career?
Joe Miñoso: It’s a hard question to answer thirteen years into a show. I feel like I often tell people I think I have the best role in the One Chicago universe. I get to do the comedy stuff, I get to do the action, I get to do the drama. I’ve been able to do so much on this show and the character has evolved and grown in so many ways, both hopeful and unexpected. At this point, I just want his security.
I want him to be safe, and I want him to feel like he’s been a successful father. At this point, what else could you want for a life? It’s been such a full experience as an actor that it’s hard for me to want. I want to continue to work, so whatever that means in whatever fashion. If he becomes a chief, great. If he doesn’t, great. I love being on the show. I love working with these people, and I hope to be here as long as I can.
I love it. We want happiness for Cruz.
Joe Miñoso: Isn’t that what everybody wants for everybody? I’m not going to walk up in here and be like, “Oh, I feel like a really miserable end to his life.” I think we all want joy for the people we love. And I love Cruz. He’s a noble human. It’s been such an honor to be in his skin for so long.
Miñoso Believes Cruz’s Relationship With Otis Added To Chicago Fire’s Success
“I think it’s what brought audiences to us. They are always one. He is the yin to my yang, for sure.”
I recently spoke with Yuriy Sardarov, and he said that he would love to come back to the show in some capacity if the opportunity arose. On that note, can you talk about the impact Otis still has on Cruz all these years after his death?
Joe Miñoso: My son’s name is Otis. I would say as impactful as Yuriy is to my life. Yuriy 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.
We also have to talk about the One Chicago crossover. Was there anyone that you were excited to work with that you haven’t had a chance to act alongside before?
Joe Miñoso: I was so excited to work with Steven Weber, and then I did, and it was a real disappointment. He was just really, really hard to work with. No, that’s a joke. Please don’t take that seriously. [Laughs] I think at this point, with the exception of some of the newer people on Med who came in this season, I’ve had the pleasure of working with pretty much everybody on all three shows.
I just don’t know how the casting department manages to keep finding great people to work with. Right now, we have Dermot in our show. We have Dermot Mulroney on our show. It’s so crazy to say that. I’m such a fan and have been for years and years, and he’s such a big name in the world of what we do. To be in a scene with Dermot in Boden’s office, where we’re really kind of connecting, I’m living the actor’s dream.
It’s always going to be a pleasure to work with any of these people. But in general, the fact that we can talk about being in a universe that has three shows that interact with each other and has been going on for over a decade seems like a miracle. And so just to be in that hemisphere is incredible. Incredible. And that’s why I think you got that from Yuriy when you talked to him. There is something super, super special about these shows, and it is about the people in them, and we’re so lucky, and I hope to do it for another 20 years.
About Chicago Fire Season 13
From renowned Emmy Award-winning executive producer Dick Wolf
Led by Lt. Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney), Rescue Squad 3 works closely with Lt. Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg) on Engine 51 and Lt. Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) on Truck 81. Their tireless, never-give-up mindset brings them all closer together – and the men and women of Firehouse 51 are more than co-workers, they’re family.
