Treat Williams Had an Important ‘Chicago Fire’ Role in the Years Before His Death

Before Treat Williams’ unexpected death, the legendary actor had many roles throughout his career, including a very important one on NBC’s Chicago Fire. Hardcore Chihards will immediately know that Williams once portrayed former firefighter and OFI Captain Benny Severide, the father of Taylor Kinney’s Kelly Severide. They didn’t have the best relationship, as it was rocky at times, and Kelly never fully forgave him for abandoning him growing up, but they always meant a lot to each other deep down.

Treat Williams first appeared in Season 1, Episode 13, “Warm and Dead,” when Severide made the decision to move to Madrid, and he reached out to his father to say goodbye, though Benny was clearly disappointed. Not surprisingly, and because fathers always know the right thing, Severide ended up listening to Benny and stayed in the Windy City. Later in the season, Benny and Boden clashed over the death of Mills’ father, who was their colleague years ago. Throughout the series, Benny would come in every once in a while and either cause some trouble or catch up with his son, no matter what the intentions were, even if it was to introduce him to a sister he never knew.

Williams’ final appearance on Chicago Fire was on the Season 7 episode “A Volatile Mixture” in 2018 when Severide went to his dad for help so he could get Gary Cole’s Grissom off Boden’s back, but their conversation about the ordeal got a little heated, as seen above. Severide ended up praising how much of a father Boden had been to him, the “father he never had,” as Benny put it. Following the discussion, they had a very silent goodbye.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go up from there. The following episode, “All the Proof,” included Benny suffering a stroke and dying before Severide was able to make it to the hospital. Even now, every once in a while, Benny is still brought up, reminding the characters and the fans the impact that he had on the show. Despite abruptly leaving earlier this year, Taylor Kinney even paid tribute to his TV dad in a statement to PEOPLE, mentioning how much of a father figure he was on set and likely remained so after leaving the series. It’s likely more tributes will pour in, considering Treat Williams impacted both the film and TV world, and it’s going to be tough to move on without him.

Luckily, all episodes of Chicago Fire are streaming on Peacock, so fans will be able to rewatch all of Treat Williams’ episodes as much as they want. With the One Chicago next season, it’s possible the show will also do some sort of tribute to him, likely at the end of an episode. Something short but sweet and meaningful, which is just as powerful as any other tribute.