The actress talks with THR about her career growth, learning to direct and her upcoming projects.

Chicago PD S02E02 Still – H 2015

For more than a decade, a generation of viewers has grown up alongside Sophia Bush and her portrayal of Brooke Davis on The CW’s gone but not forgotten One Tree Hill. Now, those same, slightly older audiences are settling in for what could be the long haul with the actress’ current role as Detective Erin Lindsay on NBC’s Chicago P.D.

To say things have been confusing for Lindsay on NBC’s Chicago Fire spinoff as of late would be an understatement. Between reintroducing her mother, Bunny (Night Court‘s Markie Post), to her life as well as joining — and quitting — the task force, she’s had to make some big life decisions. Wednesday’s episode, appropriately titled “Erin’s Mom,” won’t exactly divert from that trend when Bunny suddenly finds herself caught up in a robbery/murder case.

THR caught up with Bush to get her take on growing with her roles, getting a behind-the-scenes education and following in the footsteps of Law & Order: SVU ace Mariska Hargitay.

Do you compare Lindsay’s recent storylines to some of the growth you’ve experienced in your career?

I don’t think there’s any relation between my last job and this. I’ve always known I have all these different people in me character-wise, but as an actor, when you do a job for so long, the public gets so used to you being that person that they think you are that person. I crammed in other jobs so I could play other people. What’s nice about the way Chicago P.D. has hit is that I get to show people something else. It’s nice to get to flex in a different way.

Did you feel you wanted to stay ahead of the curve when you started directing?

It’s about multitasking and the confidence that naturally comes with experience. They talk about how women get so much more confident in their 30s. That isn’t because of your age, it’s because you’ve worked long enough to realize that the fear that you are less than enough is just ego. You get to a point where you care less about your own anxiety and fear. If we’re thinking about the 10,000 hours theory, I’ve done mine. I’ve realized I had an education. Being in the realization and confidence stage, it feels like I’d better get cracking on all those things I want to do. If not now, when?

Does that mean you’re looking to direct more?

I would love to, but it’s complicated because of the shooting schedule. My co-workers and I, from Fire and P.D., we’ve actually been talking about maybe taking this second half of the season and writing a short together. We’re stuck in Chicago and it’s freezing and we don’t want to go outside. So I sort of was like, “Well why don’t we do something other than sit on the couch and spitball at each other?” So we’ll see. It’s tough because when you have a little bit of free time at this point of the year, everyone’s trying to go home because we’re homesick.

You’re very active for your causes. When did you find your voice?

I was always active and I always had a voice in my personal space. I’d had a really lovely life. I’d never been prayed upon, I’d never been grotesquely lied to. I’d observed plenty of bullshit, but never by anything happening to me. Working on a show that revolved around such drama and suddenly having the public eye on us and our mistakes felt so invasive. So I tried to be as quiet publicly about anything that mattered to me; I was so seized up by how icky all of that prodding felt. Then I realized I wasn’t talking about what mattered to me. When that light switch flipped, I started screaming.