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Jason Beghe has tried his hands at actions and comedies, science fiction and mysteries, and many more genres, but his true brilliance lies in working for the crime genre. An absolute legend of a cop, he has done an excellent job of bringing one of the most intimidating police inspectors to life in the all-time hit television seriesChicago P.D.: Hank Voight.
Besides being tremendously famous among fans for his dark past, seemingly tortured aura, and an unconventional policing style that often calls for the use of questionable methods to get criminals to talk, Beghe’s Voight is also renowned for his booming, raspy voice that could have pretty much anyone and everyone jumping in fear.
While many might expect it to be something Beghe channels while delivering his act, that’s not the case. And while itishis real voice that viewers get to hear as he brings his formidable cop to life, it hasn’t always been that way. To be more precise, an accident from a few decades ago that“changed”him is the real reason behind his raspy voice.
Jason Beghe’s Raspy Voice inChicago P.D.Stems From an Accident
Jason Beghe’s loud and throaty voice enters the room before he does – especially while he’s busy embodying Hank Voight rather impeccably – and it is all the result of a life-threatening car accident he went through around two and a half decades ago. While the details of the accident are scarce, the actor still made sure to emphasize how it changed his voice.
Talking about it withThe Daily Beast, Beghe revealed:“I was in a very serious car accident in ’99—broke my neck, my back in a couple of places, all of my ribs, both of my lungs. I was in a coma for 3 and a half weeks. When I would come out of the coma, since I was intubated from being on life support, I would pull the tube out and it made [my voice] even more f—-d up.”
Apparently, the accident not only left him physically bruised, but the damage it inflicted on his lungs left a permanent scar on his voice, which transformed into a much more hoarse sound than before. Of course, this must have taken a serious toll on him, being in such a tragic accident that landed him in a coma and waking up to a voice he didn’t recognize as his own.
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At the same time, Beghe acknowledged that this was good for his protagonist inChicago P.D., who is haunted by his past that not only took his wife away from him due to ovarian cancer but also his wayward son, who was shown to be brutally murdered. Plus, it was also good for his own kids – two sons, Bix and Bear – when he needed them to listen to him.
As theG.I. Janestar went on to admit in the same interview:“It’s good for Voight—not so good when I have to play the sweet dad. But it’s good with my kids. They’re good kids, but when I say,Hey, it’s time to clean up, they do it.”
Of course, it’s all good when it comes to that. But his voice wasn’t the only thing that suffered, as Beghe feels his accident also changed him as a whole.
Jason Beghe is Sure His Accident “Changed” Him
While the accident led to him developing this new, raspy voice, it also changed Jason Beghe in ways more than one. Not only did it influence the way he lived his life, his acting style, and how he approached hisChicago P.D.role, but it also changed the actor as a whole. As he candidly talked about it in a recent interview withThe Hollywood Reporter:
It was huge and it did. And I actually did die. I was in a coma for three and a half weeks. And in the coma, I died, which was a very interesting experience. That’s a big deal, and it changed me, I’m sure… There’s nothing but the good. It’s not good or bad, it just is. You know it’s just the truth, and I try not to think about what’s good and bad.
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He further explained just how it changed him, saying:
Even like when people say ‘I feel bad,’ I understand there are emotions that are very uncomfortable but, are they bad? They are my emotions, I have them, I don’t create them just to suffer. They’re not bad, that’s me trying to say, ‘Hey, something is wrong, something’s off!’ So, in the same way, yeah, that changed me. How? I don’t know. Just like everything else, I’m just trying to be. I’m just trying to be.”
From what it seems like, this harrowing life experience must have also helped him in bringing Officer Voight to life as efficiently as he did. And, of course, it all eventually led to him scoring that $250,000 paycheck per episode for Chicago P.D (We Got This Covered), making Jason Beghe the most-paid actor on the series, so we guess everything does happen for the better – even life-threatening accidents.
Does Jason Beghe Have Parkinson’s Disease Too?
While reports about his car accident were one thing, rumors had also been swirling around as of late that Beghe just may have been the next victim of Parkinson’s Disease from Hollywood. This speculation arose from some of Beghe’s character Voight’s mannerisms, like how he often tends to nod or shake his head during scenes.
According to theAmerican Parkinson Disease Association,“A tremor is an involuntary quivering movement affecting 80% of people with Parkinson’s,”thus, fans saw his involuntary shaking motion as a possible telltale sign of the actor having been diagnosed with the disease. But as similar as the signs may be, these reports couldn’t be more false.
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Instead, these movements could have been a result of the fatal car accident the actor became a part of back in 1999. As mentioned previously, Beghe’s near-death experience had his neck, back, ribs, and both his lungs damaged. That said, it is possible it could have also led to some nerve damage and potential loss of head control, leading to those concerning head-shaking movements.
Either way, Jason Beghedoes nothave Parkinson’s disease, and his gravelly voice is the result of his life-threatening accident that had its 25th anniversary this year.
Chicago P.D. can currently be streamed on NBC.
Mahin Sultan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2478
Mahin Sultan is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, where she brings a fresh perspective to entertainment news. Having been in the field for over 3 years now, she has already written more than 2,000 articles across a variety of niches, from entertainment to health and fashion. This diverse experience has allowed her to quickly build a solid foundation and a deep understanding of the industry.
