Chicago PD's Jason Beghe's Voice Changed After Near-Death Experience

New York-born actor Jason Beghe has made a name for himself in Dick Wolf's One Chicago NBC franchise, starring as Hank Voight in Chicago P.D. with appearances in Chicago Fire, Chicago Justice, and Chicago Med. His voice has become iconic to his character - deep, raspy, and gruff. It turns out there's a reason for that voice, and it's more than a stylistic character choice.

Back in 2017, when Chicago P.D. was only in its fourth season, he explained how he got his voice in an interview with Daily Beast's Marlow Stern.

Beghe said that his voice was already fairly low after pubescence, but it changed to its recognizable hoarse tone after a life-altering accident in 1999. He was in a 'very serious' car accident that left him with a broken neck, back, and ribs, as well as injured lungs. For three and a half weeks, he was in a coma, intubated on life support.

The accident and resulting vocal changes was good for Voight, Beghe said. It's also apparently been beneficial in parenting: when he tells the kids to clean up with that raspy voice, they listen.

Four years later, he spoke more about the accident with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

He revealed that, technically, he died for a brief moment while in the coma. That near-death experience changed him, he said, '[informing] the perception of what life is.'

'Twenty years later, it's not something I think about very often,' he said. 'I do believe I've probably permanently changed since then.'

Looking back at Beghe’s career, fans are able to discern what his voice sounded like before the accident. During the '90s, he'd appeared in small roles for several high-profile television shows like Murder, She Wrote, Quantum Leap, The X-Files, Melrose Place, Matlock, and fellow Chicago-based series Chicago Hope. His most noteworthy project was in 1991's groundbreaking Thelma & Louise, one of the actor's few cinematic performances.

While Beghe’s voice was still deep, it's nowhere near as harsh or as raspy as it became after the accident.

Beghe has always had steady work throughout his 38-year career, but the One Chicago franchise has turned him into a household name. It's his first time in a true starring role, but according to the Pitt Post-Gazette, he almost turned it down.

It was originally a small recurring role on Chicago Fire. He almost turned it down because of personal problems, having recently lost both parents. In fact, his first shoot for Chicago Fire came right after his father's funeral in Washington D.C.

'The many ways in which that decision has changed my life could fill a book,' he said. 'Suffice to say, I'm happy I made that choice.'

Source: Daily Beast, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.