Who Is Dante Torres on Chicago P.D.?

Torres was introduced on Chicago P.D. in Season 9, Episode 18, titled "New Guard," as a new recruit assigned as the partner to Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer). It quickly became clear that Torres was extremely guarded, and he revealed little about himself. But he had the natural instincts to become a good cop and was a strong asset for Halstead.

However, based on intel from the chief, Halstead suspected that Torres was a gang member sent to infiltrate the Intelligence Unit — particularly as he uncovered more details from Torres' past. By the end of the episode, it was revealed that Torres had been in a gang as a teen, but went to juvie after beating up his mom's abusive husband and putting the man in a coma. And, while in jail, a 14-year-old Torres burned off his gang tattoos.

RELATED: Jesse Lee Soffer Returned to the Chicago P.D. Set for Season 11 — Kind Of

So, while he had a tough past, Torres came to the force no longer affiliated with any gangs. Instead, he was motivated to become the kind of cop he didn't see growing up.

Following his Season 9 arc, Torres’ next appearance was in the Season 10 premiere (“Let It Bleed”) when he was brought on as an undercover cop to help the Intelligence Unit with a drug case. By the end of the episode, the new Chief Patrick O'Neal (Michael Gaston) told Sergeant Hank Voight (Jason Beghe), “You can get that kid you like, Torres, signed up here permanent," indicating that the young cop was going to be a full-time member of the team.

Torres' past came back into play in Season 10, Episode 4 (“Dónde Vives”) when he responded to a neighborhood call. Because the local community didn’t trust most of the police force, the unit leaned on Torres and brought him in to investigate a murder linked to a local gang. Torres had to face the fact that he was now part of the police force and separated from his old life as he helped incarcerate some of the members linked to the murder. He also beat up one of the gang members while off duty.

"He wanted to protect his mother at all costs, and he tried every single way to do it and things weren't working out," Aguilar told NBC Insider. "So in that moment, he just decided to be the most animalistic version of himself, the most survival mode version of himself, and take matters into his own hands, and demand respect."

In Season 10, Episode 10 (“This Job”), Torres had to once again confront his morality during a complex case he was on with Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger). A dirty cop named Borowski (Tom Lipinski) tried to threaten Torres into silence after he caught Borowski using excessive violence on a civilian. Instead, Torres worked with Ruzek to investigate Borowski’s behavior. 

Throughout Season 10, Torres had to reckon with becoming part of the “Blue Wall,” as he told Ruzek in “This Job.” 

The last time we saw Torres was in Season 10, Episode 21 ("New Life"), when the Intelligence Unit was investigating the death of his former gang leader. That time, however, Torres crossed the line and threatened to waterboard a suspect in the murder, eventually revealing to Voight that he'd been waterboarded in order to leave the gang and the now-dead leader.

"He has worked so hard to move forward from his past that it's really hard to break those cycles as a child when you come from deep trauma and broken homes," Aguilar told NBC Insider. "He literally chose the opposite of what he was. He became a cop. It's literally the opposite of what he could have been.To stop people like that and to stop those cycles and to save people, and then he has this past that doesn't go away, and it keeps hunting him and it keeps being thrown in his face in different ways."

In the Season 10 finale, Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins) revealed that Torres was out of town with his mother, who was being seen at the Mayo Clinic.

Yes — but he is not in Episode 1.

"He's actually been going through it back at home and trying to help his mom and make sure that she's healthy and sort of has been off the job for a bit," showrunner Gwen Sigan explained to NBC Insider.

Desk Sergeant Trudy Platt (Amy Morton) noted as much in Episode 1 when asking an uncooperative Voight to name replacements for Torres and Ruzek during their respective absences, noted that Torres was "Out on furlough helping with his mom."

Torres will, however, be back later in Season 11.

Torres is played by Benjamin Levy Aguilar.

One Chicago fans may remember him from the Season 7, Episode 1 ("Doubt") of Chicago P.D. He played a completely different character named Franco Chavaro, a person of interest in the murder of infamous corrupt cop Brian Kelton (John C. McGinley).

In an interview with KTLA, Aguilar explained how it had been his dream to play professional soccer before he became an actor.

“I think that growing up in Guatemala, it’s a country where everything revolves around soccer," he said. "It’s part of the culture and gave me the right path when I was little.”

However, a career-ending injury halted his sports journey. That's when his mom suggested acting.

“It was the first time we ever talked about it, and I remember her being like ‘What about acting?’” recalled Aguilar. “And I remember thinking, like, ‘Oh, yeah, like movies…OK.’ We called the airline that same day, while in traffic, and called the airline and booked a flight [to Hollywood] for the next week.”

Aguilar recently starred as Rex in miniseries The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl In the Window. 

Another fun fact about the actor is that, according to Wolf Entertainment's Twitter account, he's expertly trained in martial arts which helped him in his role as Torres.

"For [Episode 918], he had to re-learn many of the techniques he had previously been taught to look more like an authentically trained #ChicagoPD officer," the account tweeted.

No, neither Aguilar or his character, Torres, are married.