Why Chicago Fire's Chief Robinson Looks So Familiar
Paramedic Field Chief Jude Robinson joins "Chicago Fire" in Season 12 as Evan Hawkins' (Jimmy Nicholas) successor, and it soon becomes evident that she's out for blood. Because she sees Wallace Boden (Eamonn Walker) as a serious competitor for a massive promotion, Robinson sets her sights on him and the entire Firehouse 51.
The power-hungry Chief Robinson has all the makings of a large-scale antagonist who's not above antics like planting the duplicitous Jared Lennox (Wesam Keesh) in the Firehouse 51 crew to gnaw at the team from the inside. Since the character is a direct opponent of the charismatic Boden, the actor portraying Robinson needs to match Walker's gravitas and then some — and, as viewers who have seen Robinson and Boden facing off know, this is exactly what Laura Allen brings to the table.
It's no wonder, either. Allen has worked on several major shows over the years, playing numerous roles that have been more than enough to prepare her to antagonize the One Chicago franchise. Let's take a look at some of her most famous characters.
Laura Allen played Laura Kirk English on All My Children
Laura Allen's breakout role was Laura Kirk English on the ABC daytime drama "All My Children." As the second actor to portray the character (taking over for Lauren E. Roman), she was on the show from 2000 to 2001.
Laura is Brooke English's (Julia Barr) adopted daughter who has a checkered history even by soap opera standards. During Allen's tenure, her main arcs involve a dangerous heart condition and a doomed romance with Leo du Pres (Josh Duhamel).
While it's easy to raise an eyebrow at shows like this, it's worth noting that many A-list actors got their start in soap operas. Chadwick Boseman rose to stardom after a quick 2003 stint on "All My Children." When he was fired after only a week for clashing with the producers over the portrayal of his character, his future "Black Panther" adversary Michael B. Jordan took over. With the combination of Boseman, Jordan, and Allen, it's probably fair to say that the "All My Children" casting department was doing a stellar job during the early 2000s.
She played Lily Tyler on The 4400
Sci-fi fans may remember Laura Allen from her role as Lily Tyler on "The 4400." Lily is one of the 4,400 people mysteriously abducted over 60 years. When they're all returned and put into quarantine, she immediately connects with Richard Tyler (Mahershala Ali). Though Richard hails from the 1950s and Lily is from the 1990s, the pair's fates soon turn out to be entwined — not least because Laura finds out she's pregnant, and the abductors used Richard's DNA.
"The 4400" is one of the best time-travel shows out there, but the surprising way time shenanigans affect Allen's character is nothing short of tragic. She exits the show at the beginning of Season 3 in a dramatic fashion when Lily and her infant daughter Isabelle suddenly age several decades, now played by Tippi Hedren and Megalyn Echikunwode, respectively. This arc marks Allen's departure from the main cast, though she briefly returns for the Season 4 episode "One of Us."
In an interview with IGN, "The 4400" executive producer Ira Steven Behr revealed that they would have liked to keep Allen, but the situation was out of their hands. "It's complicated," he said. "I will say that we had a season worked out with her in the show, and we pitched at the beginning of the season when we [met] with the network to start talking about the new season; we pitched a series that had Laura Allen in it, and then events kind of took hold on their own, and I was basically told that she wasn't gonna be back, and we were about to write the opening two-hour, and we had to change course."
She fell from grace as Julia Mallory on Dirt
After "The 4400," Laura Allen joined the cast of FX's tabloid drama "Dirt" as Julia Mallory, a film star whose life is uprooted when gossip magazine editor Lucy Spiller (Courteney Cox) gets her on her sights and a friend further facilitates her fall from grace. Her arc is crucial during Season 1 and its shocking finale.
In an interview with TV Guide, Allen pointed out the similarities between the role and her "All My Children" character, noting that both characters are good examples of a core aspect she's explored during her career. "You're familiar with Laura English on 'All My Children' and I tell you, I felt a lot of similarities with Julia on 'Dirt', in terms of this "good girl gone bad," spiraling out of control," she said. "That tends to happen with the characters I play! I must have this sweet veneer, but when you get underneath it, there's grit I love to play with."
She played Hannah Britten in the red reality of Awake
NBC's "Awake" is a fantasy drama with a particularly intriguing premise. Detective Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs) finds himself living in two different realities after a bad traffic accident — the "green" reality where his wife Hannah (Laura Allen) dies in the crash, and the "red" one where she's alive but their son Rex (Dylan Minnette) is dead. Switching between two disparate lives whenever he wakes up, Britten has no idea which one is real, let alone what has caused his peculiar situation. Making things worse is that he discusses his predicament with several other characters, who understandably find the idea of dual realities hard to believe.
"There's a rift in their relationship because he tries to present her with this dreamscape that he's got about Rex, and all this new information that he gains in what she thinks is his sleep," Allen described Hannah's viewpoint in an interview with TV Line. "It is really discouraging for her that he's not moving forward, that they're on completely different timetables in their grieving process."
Critics and viewers enjoyed "Awake." Unfortunately, the 2012 show failed to find a large enough audience and didn't make it past Season 1.
She shared the role of Lily Specter on Suits
In 2015, Laura Allen joined the USA Network lawyer drama "Suits" as Lily Specter, Harvey Specter's (Gabriel Macht) mother. She shares the role with Brynn Thayer, who plays an older version of the character. Harvey and Lily have a difficult history that has affected their relationship, and a significant part of their storyline revolves around whether they can rebuild a connection — or rather, whether Harvey can forgive his mother's past actions.
Thayer handles the bulk of Lily's plot, appearing in six episodes between Seasons 6 and 9. However, Allen is the first onscreen Lily, appearing in two Season 5 episodes and later returning for Lily's last appearance, the Season 9 episode "Thunder Away."
Though Allen appears in just three episodes, her time on the show is far from inconsequential. Harvey's distant nature and personal issues stem from dealing with his mother's infidelity when he was younger, so both Allen and Thayer play a key role in fleshing out his character.
Laura Allen's other roles
Apart from these roles, Laura Allen has acted in several TV shows and movies. In fact, "Chicago Fire" viewers may already be familiar with her thanks to her many guest appearances on notable TV dramas, including "House," "Grey's Anatomy," "CSI: Miami," and "Criminal Minds."
Allen's film career is also quite impressive. In 2003, she played Susan Delacorte in the 1950s school drama "Mona Lisa Smile," opposite stars like Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, and Maggie Gyllenhaal. In 2009, she appeared in the John Travolta-Robin Williams comedy "Old Dogs," the last movie in Bernie Mac's career. In 2010, she starred as Linda in the comedy-drama "Cherry."
Notably, Allen has appeared in many horror projects. Fans of "American Horror Story" may remember her from the show's Season 7, "The Cult," where she portrays a psychiatric patient whose terrible fear of caskets plays out pretty much as one might expect. Horror buffs may also know her from the 2008 curse thriller "From Within," 2010's "Hysteria," and Eli Roth's 2014 creep-fest, "Clown." This horror experience could be handy when Allen's Chief Robinson looms over Firehouse 51.