Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive show news, updates, and more!
You Probably Forgot Daniel Kyri Was on This Chicago Med Episode Before He Was Ritter
Kyri was a completely different character on One Chicago six years ago.
Fans of Dick Wolf's Law & Order and One Chicago universes know that the mega-producer is not afraid to use the same actors for various different roles, across multiple different shows. Basically, if you've been watching any of his series for a few years, you're bound to come across a familiar face or two.
Chicago Fire's Daniel Kyri is no different. Though he's played fireman Darren Ritter in more than 100 episodes to-date, Kyri has also appeared in One Chicago in a completely different role.
Daniel Kyri's unexpected role on Chicago Med
In 2018, the same year Ritter made his debut on Chicago Fire's second episode of Season 7, the actor guest starred on Chicago Med as a man named Lane Tucker in Season 3, Episode 15's "Devil in Disguise." The character was simply a family member of a patient highlighted in the episode.
RELATED: Which Law & Order Cast Members Played Multiple Characters in the Franchise?
However, it's clear that the actor shines in his full time role as Ritter. Maybe it's because he's been able to find a special connection to his fictional counterpart: They're both Chicago natives and proudly represent the Black LGBTQ community.
"There are some things that unite Ritter and I," Kyri said told CBR. "There is so much of my personal experience that I pour into the character, utilizing my worldview to help and strengthen his point of view. I also think that there are some key ways that Ritter and I differ. Anybody that knows me personally can tell you that he's a little more grounded. I can be a little more stoic, a little more reserved in moments, and then the flip side of that is absolute flamboyance when I'm with the right people, and Ritter is just not that way at all."
He continued, "Whenever I'm approaching the work, it is like differentiating how I would respond versus how Ritter would. Those are some key elements that go into portraying a character that is close to the vest and yet, in so many ways, diametrically different than who I am as a person."
Casting in the Dick Wolf universe
Other actors who've appeared on other Dick Wolf shows as different characters are S. Epatha Merkerson, Kelli Giddish, Alberto Rosende, Benjamin Levy Aguilar, Camryn Manheim, Peter Scanavino, Erik LaRay Harvey, and Sara Bues.
In 2019, Wolf opened up to Backstage about how he and his team approach the casting process across his shows.
"I try to keep an open mind when casting, and there are many factors in the decision," he said. "Sometimes it's physical appearance. Do you believe that this person could be the character? Sometimes we will look at people more than once, or we feel the actor might have been nervous or not 100 percent, and we give them another shot. So the short answer, is we are as open as possible. Sometimes the person you least expect [to] is the one that nails the audition."
