Chicago P.D. Star Tracy Spiridakos Shares Swimsuit Photo Saying Happy Birthday

1. She Loves Chicago

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Spiridakos genuinely loves her lifestyle in Chicago. “I think my favorite thing about the city, aside from the food, that would be on the top of my list, is the people,” she says. “Everyone that’s here; I just really loved all of the locals, and everyone’s very proud of their city, proud to be from Chicago. Throughout the whole city, everyone that I’ve met is like that and it’s really cool, I mean it’s a really, really great city, and one of my favorite cities that I’ve gotten to work in the United States actually.”

2. Self-Care and Gaming

Spiridakos likes to unwind with her Playstation 4. “I read a lot, and I’m really into this science website called Wondrium—it’s very interesting,” she says. “I also play a lot of video games. I’m playing Horizon right now—the new one, it’s very good. That has been my quarantine companion aside from my dog, who has been wonderful as well. She’s looking at me right now, so how could I not mention her? During hiatus, I also try to travel as much as I possibly can. I love exploring new places, as well as visiting family back in Greece and Canada. I also try to get near the ocean for as long as possible to unwind.”

3. Learning From the Role

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Spiridakos has learned a lot by playing a cop. “It’s been interesting,” she says. “We have an incredible tech supervisor who talks to us about things we could be thinking about going into an interview, or approaching a situation tactically going in to clear a room. You’re looking around a corner for this or that. He’ll talk about going into the headspace of what you want to see. There are tells that you can look for. It’s all really interesting to learn. He’s been a great and valuable asset for me to get into that. I learn different things every day.

4. Stunt Days

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Spiridakos loves the physical aspects of the job. “I love stunt days!” she says. “Keeping in shape is tough because of our schedule, but whenever I have time, I get some training in there. Jeff (our stunt coordinator) is fantastic, he knows how to make us all look lethal when we’re truly just a group of goofballs. Part of his job is to keep us safe, and part of my job is to scare him with my clumsiness, so…you know, fun fun for the whole family!”

5. Positive Attitude

Spiridakos has learned to see the silver lining when it comes to rejection. “I just really believe that you just can’t let [rejection] get to you,” she says. “I mean, sometimes it does, and I’ll have moments where I’ll be deflated, and I let myself feel that and I’m OK if I’m bummed out by it, and then you just try to move onto the next. I think of auditions as an opportunity to try out that character and try to distance myself from if I’m gonna book it or not. Think of the audition as an opportunity to play as opposed to an opportunity to book a job. And if the job happens, that much better. I also would always have a backup travel plan, so I’m like, ‘OK, if this ends up working out, great, then I can go do that. And if it doesn’t, then maybe I can go visit my family in Canada.’ That way, I always have something to look forward to.”

Chicago P.D. is part of an empire, with the creator of Law & Order taking his franchise magic to the Windy City (Chicago Med and Chicago Fire are the sister shows). What makes these series compelling is not just the comforting, repetitive storytelling, but the humanistic performances that fuel them. Sophia Bush, the One Three Hill star, is an anchor on the show, with LaRoyce Hawkins, Tracy Spiridakos and many more presenting a convincing portrait of police as fit and capable and flawed. How do they stay so fit? Here's how.

1. Sophia Bush

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In an interview with Delish, Sophia Bush talked about how she keeps her diet on set. She says that she likes to bring healthy options with her. "Sets are literally the worst place on the planet for willpower. There's donuts everywhere. There's candy everywhere. There's Doritos everywhere. It's really hard to eat healthy, and I think that's part of the reason I've been trying to set aside time to cook more and prepare more food that I can bring with me."

2. Jesse Lee Soffer

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Jesse Lee Soffer talked about his favorite workouts with Men’s Journal. He says that he does German Volume Training. “You’re doing 10 sets of a few different exercises, 10 reps each, but at lower weights,” Soffer explains. “Right now I’m doing a 5/10/15 program where I start off going heavy for five reps. On the next exercise, I do 10 reps at a medium weight, and then by the end of this superset, I’m on 15 reps of light weight. I can barely get through it.”

3. Patrick John Flueger

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Patrick John Flueger talked about the process of working on Chicago P.D. to UsWeekly. “It’s a pretty chaotic process. There were so many moving parts to this. I don’t remember yesterday much less a few episodes ago, but that sure felt like the most ambitious thing.”

4. Marina Squerciati

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Marina Squerciati shared some of her favorite workouts with Better.Net. “I really love going to the gym because I have a ginormous sweet addiction. I have to keep that in check. I don’t like training lightly, I like to train hard and put all my body into it. I want to lift heavy weights. I want to do what footballers do. I go to Performance Training Systems, which a couple other cast members go to. It’s an amazing training place.”

5. LaRoyce Hawkins

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LaRoyce Hawkins wants to give back to Chicago, and talked about this in an interview with The Source. “Be Powerful is my corporation, and Hood Development is the concept (spearheaded by my big brother) that circulates light through my hometown of Harvey and surrounding areas. I like to leverage the relationships and resources from the brands I collaborate with. For example, a couple years ago, as the Voice of the Chicago White Sox, we were able to provide Harvey’s Little League with new jerseys and equipment.”

6. Tracy Spiridakos

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Tracy Spiridakos talked about her career and how she approaches it to Backstage.com. “I just really believe that you just can’t let [rejection] get to you. I mean, sometimes it does, and I’ll have moments where I’ll be deflated, and I let myself feel that and I’m OK if I’m bummed out by it, and then you just try to move onto the next. I think of auditions as an opportunity to try out that character and try to distance myself from if I’m gonna book it or not. Think of the audition as an opportunity to play as opposed to an opportunity to book a job. And if the job happens, that much better. I also would always have a backup travel plan, so I’m like, ‘OK, if this ends up working out, great, then I can go do that. And if it doesn’t, then maybe I can go visit my family in Canada.’ That way, I always have something to look forward to.”

7. Lisseth Chavez

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Lisseth Chavez loves to hike and spend time outside. She recently went on trips to Utah and Sequoia National Park, and shared highlights on Instagram. Chavez shared these photos of herself hiking in Emerald Pool Zion National Park, captioning them, “Unreal.” She also shared these photos from Sequoia, captioning them, “Nature is the purest portal to inner peace.”

8. Sydney Tamiia Poitier

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Sydney Tamiia Poitier is all about standing up for causes that she believes in. She has supported the SAG/AFTRA Strike, and has even protested. Poitier shared these photos on Instagram of herself riding a horse in the protest, captioning them, “SAG AFTRA STRONG.”

9. America Olivo

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America Olivo talked about working with stunt trainer Zoe Ball for a film, with Fulle Circle Magazine. “Zoe was my coordinator and my trainer, and I'm indebted to her for making me look like I kick ass. She trained us on the weekends at her facility and really taught me a lot. I knew nothing about fighting before and have gained an appreciation for stunt work, fight scenes, and fight choreography. It was an absolute blast. She did a cameo as well of her own character. I recently saw her at the premiere of Whip It which she was just in, it was really sweet. She did such a great job in that.”

10. Nicole Ari Parker

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Nicole Ari Parker shared some of her favorite exercises with Parade. “I’m always in hotels and I have this workout that I do in my PJs,” she says. “I get out of bed, lay on floor and do a circuit of five exercises: squats, lunges, push-ups, sit-ups and jumping jacks. I do it four times and I’m done. Think about it this way: It’s easy to do this wherever you are and I promise you will start your day energized if you do this. We actually launched an app last week called KOFIT that has my exact workout."

11. Carmela Zumbado

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Carmela Zumbado spends a lot of time outside. One thing she likes to do to stay in shape is going swimming. She shared this black and white photo on Instagram of herself wading in the ocean. Zumbado captioned the post, “Just busy being a Pisces.”

1. She Loves Dogs

Walsh loves spending time with her pup, which experts say is good for health and wellness, both physical and mental. “There are many psychological benefits to having a pooch around,” say the experts at Harvard Health. “Dog owners are less prone to bouts of loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Simply petting your dog can make you feel less stressed. One of the greatest benefits of owning a dog is that it encourages you to practice mindfulness — being in the present moment and fully appreciating life. Mindfulness can help you relieve stress and also improves your overall health.”

2. Stronger By the Day

Walsh has transformed her body through weight training, and posts progress updates on her social media. “My fitness journey over these past few years has been enlightening. Discovering the power and ability in your body is transformative. 🦾🔥,” she captioned an Instagram post showing her lifting weights and showing off her strong biceps. Weight training not only gives muscle and definition, it’s beneficial for bone health, experts say.

3. Cactus Fan

Walsh is a plant lover, specifically beautiful cacti. “The cactus is believed to be a symbol of warmth, protection, endurance, and unconditional maternal love. The cactus has a protective exterior that can stand up to the test of time and the elements. Stay strong, endure and remember that the essence of both your truth and your beauty from within. Thank you @heyyolico for my beautiful earrings. 🌵 💖,” she captioned an Instagram selfie.

4. Birthday At the Beach

Walsh spent her birthday in beautiful Santa Barbara, California, enjoying the mentally calming benefits of the ocean. “Feeling so blessed and filled with joy to have another year of growth, passion, and love. To take advantage of discovering more and more about myself and the world around me. Grateful to you my friends and family . Thank you for being apart of my journey and sharing your love and birthday wishes! 💕💚💕” she captioned a birthday post.

5. Trust the Process

Walsh has a philosophical approach to life. “A friend recently told me, 'Life is binary.' The joy with the pain. The dark with the light. The sun with the rain,” she says. “There’s a sweet spot in the middle. A place of pure potentiality, where peace and balance is found. It is not a place void of emotion. Feelings are the truth within you. The correlation you have to the world around, as it relates to the world within you. Embrace the lover and the warrior spirit inside. Pursue peace and the liberty that exists in the acceptance that life is binary. It is full. Full of surprises. Full of love. Full of potential! Trust the process…”