Jocelyn Hudon Breaks Down Her Role as Lizzie Novak in Chicago Fire Season 13

[00:00:09] Jocelyn, thank you for joining me today on Pop Culture Unplugged. Thank you for having me. Exciting times, man. You made a strong impression of Chicago Fire. All the fans are loving you. Yeah, it's been really nice. I'm very grateful. What's been like the reaction with you with like the fans, family, friends?

[00:00:28] Oh, the reaction with me. I mean, yeah, it's just kind of a big leap from before. There's a lot of viewers of the show. So you get kind of recognized a lot more than before. Like in the airport, I'd like finish work and then be getting to my plane and people are like, hey, I just watched you. And I'm like, oh, hey. But yeah, no, it's been great. I think the fans are loving it. I read a lot of the tweets and the Reddit forums.

[00:00:54] And yeah, I think it's going well. That's good. You stepped into an already well-established team in Firehouse 51. What was the transition like for you to both on and off the screen being, you know, as a part-timer now to a full part of the cast? Yeah, I think at first I was like, man, because I was just a recurring guest star with the options for a series regular pickup. So there was a lot of pressure that I put on myself because I'm like, either they like me or I'm gone.

[00:01:23] So, yeah. So everyone on set was super welcoming. Everyone's really funny, really nice. So that was pretty smooth, I'd say. After all these seasons, what was one advice they gave you when you jumped on set and joining the cast? They said just have fun, which I do. I'm like, this is my dream. So I'm like, even a hard day at work, I'm like, what are you having a hard time at work living your dream? I don't know. I just try to have a good time and have fun.

[00:01:51] I want to go back a little bit in time. Can you tell us a little about the audition for Lizzie? Like, what kind of description would you give into her about her? I'm curious. Okay. The audition. I mean, I did it and I was like, this is the initial audition. I was like, this is mine. Like, this is me. This is mine. It's like, I got it. I did the audition. They're like, hey, they want to test you. I'm like, yes.

[00:02:17] Like, sometimes you just know. And then the test was so bad. Like, I flew to Chicago to do the network test. And I was like, I was just, there were so many people and I couldn't get a read on anyone. I'm like, am I the worst ever? And halfway through, I was like, I should leave. Like, I'm like, okay, you know what? I'm going to save face. I'm just going to leave like halfway through this test. Luckily, I didn't. I'm so glad I didn't.

[00:02:43] But it was the network test I felt went really, really badly. But I guess not. Right, right. What was the description for Lizzie? The description? I think she was just like fun, loving, likey, light. I don't really remember. Her name was Lila to begin with. And I love that name. And I love Novak too. And I was like, this is just the scenes. I was like, I can do this.

[00:03:11] How much of that energy comes from you personally? How much is purely the character you think when you're playing? Oh, it's like 99.9 me. Yeah. The words aren't mine, but like a lot of it is me. There's also like a deeper side of her I noticed throughout the episodes that I've been watching too. Like, you know, there's confidence mixed with, you know, a little bit of like vulnerability. Vulnerability, I can't even talk today. Is there a particular scene this season that really helped you lock who she is?

[00:03:39] Yeah, I really liked when I was talking on the bench. After the suicide incident, I think it was episode eight, when I was talking on the bench to Dermot. And she does keep a brave face on and she's so strong for everyone else. And she's like, yeah, whatever, have fun. But I think seeing into her past made her a little vulnerable and she just wanted to know that she was like still safe at the firehouse and someone had her back.

[00:04:06] So that was really fun to play. And I was really excited to do that episode. Do you think she's she had to like prove herself this season more? I don't think so. I mean, for me, the way I I felt more of a prove yourself for season 12. And for this season, I was like, I'm just, I just want to hype everyone else around me up. I'm just there. I'm supporting. I'm here, whatever you need. I got you.

[00:04:32] I'm just easy. I fit in that. I think she was just like a very supportive role this season, which I was stoked with. There's one thing I wrote down here. I don't want to admit I don't want to forget about ask you there's a fan favorite moment between Lizzie and Violet that people are loving. Would you describe that working relationship and chemistry? Wait, which is there a specific moment or just us in general? Just you guys in general.

[00:04:56] Oh, yeah. I think we're just like besties like in work and we're like besties outside of work. So it's not like a forced relationship. We just get along really well. And some of that was built during the network test where in the test, we were doing a scene with a kid with a gun.

[00:05:18] And I like kept looking to her for reassurance and support, which like as partners on the show, I think is really important because we're a team. So you have to like actually have that together, which we do. We're we're we're bros. In these type of shows, you know, we see a lot of like, you know, like challenging moments, I would say, because, you know, you're playing like some real life situations that have happened or might happen.

[00:05:46] You know, is there a specific scene this season stood out that challenged you the most emotionally, physically? Yeah, the C-section was definitely the most like physically. It was so rewarding to do, but it was the entire day was the C-section. So we there's lady is dead and she still has a baby inside her and the heartbeat's still going. And we're like, we can save the baby. You're not supposed to. But there's 15 minutes till the ambulance gets there. We got to take the baby out.

[00:06:17] So doing that, we had to watch real C-section videos. We like went through a lot of training to be able to do it. Mostly Violet, because I'm just kind of there. I'm like, whoa, you got it. But we do a lot of we do CPR for like in in real life filming. It was like maybe 10 hours of like. And so the director, Brenna, wanted me to be like out of breath and sweating the entire time. And I'm like, you got it. So I was sprinting on set between takes. I'm like really sweating, really out of breath.

[00:06:47] So that was like the most physically challenging. After that, your your spine was on my spine. I was like, oh, my God, how do I how do I recover? But it turned out really good. And I really loved that scene. And that, again, was like a great partnership scene between me and Violet is. Yeah, she's like, you should go. I'm going to do this thing. I'm like, I'm staying right here with you. Like, if you go down, I go down. We mentioned Violet. Is there any other like.

[00:07:17] Aside from Violet, is there any other like surprising bonds or tensions you have developed with Lizzie, like for other people, other cast members? Definitely the chief with Dermot. Yeah, we're we're bonded for sure. Yeah. And then, I mean, we have our relationship. We're both like we've said it a few times that we're we're frontliners. So I think we understand each other on a different level than a lot of the other characters. And I do.

[00:07:43] Who's been your favorite character other than Lizzie that you'd like root for, cheer for in the series? Mouch. Mouch is when Christian acts. He could do the same scene over and over again for like three hours. And I just watch him. He's so talented. He's so funny. He understands what's going on just so deeply. He's he's great to work with. And just for me to watch, I'm like enamored by him.

[00:08:11] Is there somebody that you didn't have a lot of scenes with that you maybe down the road you get to work with more have or more of a big storyline with? I don't have scenes with Severide really or Kidd. Yeah, I think those are the only two that I haven't really worked with that much this season. Other than like in emergencies, but we're not really we're not really interacting. We have this thing called the one Chicago universe. Would you want to see Lizzie pop up somewhere else? PD.

[00:08:40] I want to go to PD. Is there a reason why? Why that show? I want to kick some ass on PD. So you want to transition over maybe to a police officer or something like that? Oh, wait, you're back. Okay. I've been on med. I love med. I love all the actors on med. But I just want to go to PD. I haven't I haven't been there. I want to I want to go kick some ass on PD. Who's your favorite character in that show? Do you have a favorite person?

[00:09:09] Oh, I mean, I really like Toya, but that's because I just I know her more personally. Yeah. I got some fun, like fun little like questions here. I want to see what you're going to say. It's a you're stuck. You're stuck in an elevator with one of the cast members from Chicago Fire. Who would you who would you want to be stuck with? Would I want to be stuck with? Probably David Herman, because he would just we'd both be like, we'd both be we'd keep each other entertained for however long it takes for them to rescue us.

[00:09:39] What about if Lizzie had a theme song? Oh. Oh, oh, my. OK, like. Like, where's your head? I could tell you love Lizzie so much. Would you change anything about her? I don't think so. I mean. I think she. No, I love everything about her. No.

[00:10:09] What about if she was a real person? Would you be friends with Jocelyn be friends with Lizzie? Yeah, because it's like almost me. I would like to think I would hang out with myself. Yeah, I would hang out there. I think fans would want to see like a more of a backstory of Lizzie. What do you think? Yeah, I would, too. There's a lot of questions I have. Like, I want to know who died. I want to know why. I want to know, like, what she did between then and becoming a paramedic. Yeah, I have a lot of questions.

[00:10:36] I did see one of the comments on Reddit was a Lizzie spinoff. Oh, really? What's your thoughts on that? Would you want? Someone made someone. Dude, I don't know if I can find it, but someone made this, like, Ambo 61 spinoff poster. I saved it because I'm a nerd. Let me see if I can find it. Yeah, I found it. Oh, my God. That's amazing. I know. I think I saw that. I think I saw that when I was scrolling through. I was like, fuck yeah, that's sick.

[00:11:06] So you'd be all for it. I guess you got to just start writing a script or something to get into the... Just like, I mean, the real life paramedics have so many stories. I have a cousin who's a paramedic and every... She's like married in cousin. And every time at Christmas, I would be like the most drawn to her because I'm like, you have all the stories. What's going on? Who did you say? What happened? Like, I find them so interesting. They're like real life heroes. So I mean, I would watch a show just on paramedics.

[00:11:34] So without spoiling too much, what can you tease about Lizzie's arc coming up in the final few episodes? I mean, at the end, she shows up on med, but she is mostly just there and supportive. Like, it's not really about her the rest of the season. She's just kind of the hype man. There you go. Well, what's next for you? Any other projects you'll tell us about working on, teasing? No, I'm just chilling. I'm in vacation mode.

[00:12:01] I go back in July and that's pretty much it. Hot summer in Chicago, huh? Yeah. There you go. This was great. All right. Jocelyn, how can the viewers and listeners find you on social media to keep up with you now with everything? I'm at Jocelyn Hudon. And then I think it's Jocelyn Hudon X on X. And then my Twitter got hacked. So no Twitter. I mean, sorry, not Twitter. TikTok. Oh, so did I. So. Really? I'm there with you. I'm there with you. What's yours doing? Because mine is selling GPS trackers. Mine's doing absolutely nothing.

[00:12:31] Okay, that's good. And I've opened about 30 tickets and nobody's getting back to me. Yeah, I can't even open one. I'm like, you know what? You sell those GPS trackers. If that's the worst you're going to do, that's fine. Right. I'm just going to create another one. Same thing. So it doesn't matter. Yeah. Jocelyn, I want to thank you for giving me this today. This was great. We got to get you back on because like I said, the fans are loving this character and the story. Thank you so much. Fromいき下去 for a whilerice. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.