‘Chicago Fire’: Rob Morgan Teases What’s Next in Morgan & Severide’s Conflict

“You’re going to see more of why America is pissed at Hopkins for having him go against America’s top model, Severide,” Rob Morgan says of the Wednesday, May 6, episode of Chicago Fire.

Morgan plays 51’s current battalion chief, Hopkins, who’s not a fan of Lieutenant Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) due to his past with his late father, Benny (Treat Williams). “It’s a pretty daunting task to be given as your introduction of your character is to go against Taylor Kinney, who’s like America’s next top model,” Morgan adds. “You might find out something like that. How can he possibly do this?”

He enjoys those scenes with Kinney. “He’s a great guy,” Morgan tells TV Insider. “The idea of my character is to bring fire to the firehouse, shake it up a bit. So yeah, we had good conversations and great fun shooting those scenes, trying to do what the writers wanted my character to do.”

Hopkins has kickstarted an internal affairs investigation into Severide taking on OFI investigations without following, as he sees it, the proper protocols. That’s key for the chief. But even so, Morgan does say that there’s quite a bit his character likes and respects about the squad lieutenant, including “how he’s able to complete the task, his focus and dedication, his relationships within the squad, the house.” If he’s going to change his mind about Severide, he has to keep seeing him doing what he does best, leading squad and 51 and keeping Chicago safe.

Peter Gordon/NBC

At the end of last week’s episode, Severide, whose promotion to captain is on hold as a result of that investigation, was offered a job with OFI. So, how would Hopkins feel about Severide taking that?

“Right now where I’m at, I think he’s pretty on board with the protocol of what the CFD needs to keep it safe. And right now, Severide is doing that, even though you’ll have to tune in next week to see what the ultimate decision is,” Morgan teases.

Whatever his feelings for Severide, however, Hopkins is impressed with what he’s seeing of firehouse 51 in general — Morgan “loves” the reaction from fans letting him know that everyone will rally together against someone targeting one of them — and especially Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo). The actor points to “her engine being as tight as it is,” adding, “He sees that Kidd is definitely a sharp lieutenant.”

Morgan also thinks that Hopkins would be “impressed” by Kidd getting that report of his conduct unbecoming charge. “How could she even get her hands on things like that? That’s actually going against what he stands for, the protocol of the whole firehouse leaking out information like that,” he adds.

The end of that episode also showed Hopkins at home with his daughter, who noted how good Severide must be after that shift’s incident. Morgan enjoyed getting to show that side of his character.

“I thought that was fabulous to show him having a daughter at home, involved father. I think that was a great nuance that Chicago Fire happened to slide into the script,” he shares. “She was giving him a realization of the quality of what his squad is doing under Severide.”

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Right now, Hopkins is on the outside looking in of 51. But if he were to open up to someone at the firehouse, Morgan thinks it would be Mouch (Christian Stolte). “He’s starting to write his memoir. His probably only regret is that he wasn’t there early enough to be included in the memoir,” he adds.

Could he imagine a world where Hopkins and Benny could have put their differences aside?

“With what this week will reveal, I believe so,” Morgan teases. “He’s still an upstanding man. He has nothing personal against these guys. He’s just really trying to go by the book of the CFD. So if something was to be revealed to change his idea or his thoughts, he would be man enough to own it.”

What do you think of Hopkins so far? How do you think the final episodes of the season will play out? Let us know in the comments section below.

Chicago Fire, Wednesdays, 9/8c, NBC