ABC
Like many9-1-1fans,Kenneth Choiwept watching Thursday’s episode.
I was laughing at myself saying, “I don’t know what is happening!
I know this isnt real!
Chimney (Kenneth Choi) on ‘9-1-1’ after Bobby’s death.Credit:ABC
Why am I acting like this?
But it was devastating to me.”
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: It may not be a real death, but the tears make sense.
Bobby (Peter Krause) helps Chimney (Kenneth Choi) on ‘9-1-1’.Disney/Christopher Willard
You’re grieving an ending.
KENNETH CHOI:The weird thing is, I was actually just hanging out with Peter.
And I’m gonna work with him again, we actually have this project were doing.
So Im like, “I don’t get this.”
You’re crying because Chimney is losing Bobby," and I really think that’s what it was.
Because I just saw Peter today.
We’re going to see each other every day, we’re thick as thieves.
But I won’t be with Bobby, and I didn’t know that would affect me so much.
Ive been dealing with this for a few weeks and it’s been surreal.
Hen (Aisha Hinds), Chimney (Kenneth Choi), Ravi (Anirudh Pisharody), Eddie (Ryan Guzman), and Buck (Oliver Stark) at Bobby’s funeral on ‘9-1-1’.ABC
What was your conversation with Tim Minear like when he told you he was killing Bobby?
There was this long period of silence and I said, “Are you serious?”
And he said, “I’m serious, yeah.”
And then I just kind of went into those stages of grief.
Denial, mostly:This doesn’t make any sense.
Why would you do that?
And I continued to fight him on it.
Maybe they’ll change their minds.
Maybe theyll reverse course.But…yeah.
Disney/Christopher Willard
And how is Chimney processing Bobby’s death?
[more tears, then laughter] I still can’t believe it.
I’m laughing at myself, really.
I dont know why its so hard…. Chimney is devastated.
It’s not just the loss of his captain.
It’s not just the loss of a colleague.
It’s not just the loss of a friend.
So Chimney is completely reeling, and I think thats going to manifest itself in many ways.
I think most people, when they feel sadness, it doesn’t register as sadness.
Sometimes it can register as anger.
So I think Chimney…. Man, it’s so hard to keep myself together.
What have your conversations with Peter been like about all this?
He’s the most gracious human that I know, the most gracious actor that I know.
So he shoulders everything.
Peter is great, he’s making it easy.
He’s saying, “I get it.
I understand it creatively.”
The way he puts it….
It’s even the dialogue where he says Bobby is on borrowed time.
I dont think Peter imagined this ending right now.
But it also followed his storyline: He’s captain of a very close-knit firefighter family.
As he says in the episode, he did what he was supposed to do.
That’s his job.
[laughs]
You have to understand, so I kind of made my peace with Peter.
I talked with him personally and got my closure.
Okay, Im done crying, go ahead.
Grief is not a linear experience, for you or your character.
How will the 118 operate without its captain?
The 118 is now fractured.
Youre cutting the head off the snake, and the rest of us dont know what to do.
Basically, every moment it will still be with us, and the loss will be with us.
But for Chimney, this is going to be a tough one, definitely.
The final three episodes of season 8 begin in two weeks on ABC, Thursdays at 8 p.m.
