Whatever Happened To Rick Newhouse From Chicago Fire?

For the past 11 years, "Chicago Fire" has been one of the most consistently thrilling dramas in the primetime landscape. And if NBC has its way, the flagship "One Chicago" series will be around for many years to come. Like any network drama that's managed to cross the decade mark, the "Chicago Fire" now looks dramatically different than it did in its early days. That's particularly true of the series cast, which has seen more than its fair share of arrivals and departures over the years, even Jesse Spencer, who left "Chicago Fire" in 2022. 

To date, series creatives have handled turnover in the "Chicago Fire" cast reasonably well. But there have been some puzzling series exits during the show's tenure. And few were more puzzling than that of Rick Newhouse. Portrayed by Edwin Hodge, Newhouse joins Firehouse 51 late in the second season of "Chicago Fire" and fast becomes one of the crew's most reliable and least drama-prone rescue workers. That remains true through much of the series' third season as well.

As Newhouse's episode count mounted, it looked like he was setting up for a lengthy stay in Firehouse 51. Early in the second half of Season 3, however, Newhouse leaves Chicago for what appeared to be a brief sojourn to visit family in Miami. He never returned. Neither did Edwin Hodge. And many "Chicago Fire" fans have been eager to know whatever became of the actor. Here's what he's been up to.

Edwin Hodge actually earned his first major screen credit alongside his kid brother Aldis Hodge in 1995's "Die Hard With a Vengeance." And the actor has kept more than busy on screens big and small in the years since, including the eight that passed since his last "Chicago Fire" appearance. A year after his Firehouse 51 job ended, Hodge actually worked opposite James Caan in the indie thriller "The Waiting." The same year he made his third, and sadly final appearance in "The Purge" franchise as the stout-hearted Dante Bishop. Hodge followed his "The Purge: Election Year" gig with a four-episode run as famed African-American naturalist Benjamin Banneker on Fox's supernatural drama "Sleepy Hollow."

The roles have continued to roll in for Hodge of late, with the actor working alongside John Cena in 2018's "Bumblebee" and bagging a recurring role as Officer Franky Rogan on "Mayans M.C." The following year he made a pair of appearances as Clayton Pool on the AppleTV+ hit "For All Mankind" in 2019. In 2021, Hodge landed a crucial role in Amazon Studios' Chris Pratt action-packed sci-fi vehicle "The Tomorrow War," and in 2022 made a lone appearance as NBA star Ron Boone on the star-studded HBO hit "Winning Time." These days, the actor can be seen playing Special Agent Ray Cannon on "FBI: Most Wanted." Hodge will next be seen in the sci-fi thriller "Parallel," which he co-wrote and will appear in alongside his brother and breakout "Till" star Danielle Deadwyler.