Any viewer who dialed into the first few seasons of NBC’s white-hot first responder drama “Chicago Fire” will recognize the name and face of former firefighter Kevin Hadley, portrayed for 26 episodes of the One Chicago hit series by William Smillie. Right from his debut in Season 1, however, Hadley would be revealed as an unpleasant person with a penchant for questionable behavior and over-the-line practical jokes.
Initially irritated that Lt. Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) is showing favoritism to newbie firefighter Peter Mills (Charlie Barnett), Hadley’s anger only grows when he thinks Severide is helping Mills advance in his career by helping him get into training classes that are already posted as at capacity. In response to this perceived slight, Hadley sets out to get even by playing a series of pranks on Mills.
Eventually, he takes his personal vendetta way too far when he slips dog food into Mills’ meal. After this almost results in physical violence between Hadley and Mills, Chief Wallace Boden (Eamonn Walker) has Hadley transferred out to another station. Subsequently, Hadley goes even farther off the deep end by becoming a vengeance-driven serial arsonist, setting dangerous blazes across the city until he’s finally busted, by Severide, no less, in Season 2. So, after seeing him play such a central role in “Chicago Fire,” fans may be curious to know what actor William Smillie has been up to since exiting the show mid-way through Season 3.
After Chicago Fire, William Smillie’s career includes both TV shows and feature films
2015 saw William Smillie finish his run as Kevin Hadley on “Chicago Fire” in the episode “Three Bells.” That same year he would team up with his former “Chicago Fire” colleague Taylor Kinney to play GMO Cop 1 in the feature film “Consumed.” After appearing in the short film “I’m Fine” the following year, Smillie would land a substantial recurring role in the police procedural “APB,” a series also set in Chicago. As Officer Geoff Cobb for 12 episodes of “APB,” Smillie played a squad member in Chi-Town’s 13th District.
In 2018 Smillie could be seen on the big screen along with Hilary Swank in the family drama film “What They Had.” He would also revisit the Midwest again that same year to play Paul in the Wisconsin-set fright fest “30 Miles from Nowhere.” Interviewed by Live from the Heartland about the film, Smillie noted that the movie was basically “a love letter to a number of different [horror movies], and they do it really well. It was really fun.”
Next, the busy actor portrayed FBI agent Todd Davis in four episodes of the TV series “Empire,” and in 2020, he joined the cast of “Fargo” to play Detective #1 in the Season 4 episode “Happy.” During the same period from 2019 through 2021, Smillie also turns up in three episodes of “South Side,” playing Gil Hammersmith.
