Ritter Comes Into His Own in Chicago Fire, Says Daniel Kyri

Since Chicago Fire introduced Darren Ritter in Season 7, audiences have watched him grow by leaps and bounds. Ritter has gone from a young firefighter struggling on the job to a reliable member of Firehouse 51. And while his story started with his being lifted up and mentored by Mouch, Season 11 ended with him lifting up and encouraging aspiring firefighter Kylie Estevez. Ritter has been on an incredible journey, made all the more endearing by the actor who plays him.

Daniel Kyri spoke with CBR about Ritter’s character arc now that he’s finished his fifth season on the show and his third as a series regular. He also discussed further exploring Ritter’s sexuality as the first LGBTQIA+ character in the series’ main ensemble since Lauren German portrayed Leslie Shay in Seasons 1-2. Kyri also discussed his role in a One Chicago series before Chicago Fire.

CBR: The Chicago Fire Season 11 finale highlights how far Ritter has come. In his first episode, he was completely unsure of himself, and now he’s encouraging Kylie. How cool has it been to take that journey as he’s come into his own?

Daniel Kyri: I’ve been a part of the show now… In July, it’ll be five years. That’s a significant amount of time, especially with Ritter [being in] active service as a first responder. Those things that happen on the calls come at you fast. You have to think on your toes, and it shapes you. Now, when I’m approaching an incident [on the show], it’s enlightening and illuminating to take into account who he was — learning on the job, trying to figure it out — to now being someone in command of his skill set as a firefighter.

It’s fun to play because I’ve been in a lot of similar situations, but also, there’s so much that’s different about the life he leads. The ways in which we, as actors, draw parallels between ourselves and our worlds and what we observe to what our character is going through that’s the most fun challenge. And there have been plenty of full-circle moments. We’ve seen Ritter lifting up Mouch, his mentor. We’ve seen Ritter making decisions in the firehouse to help take care of his lieutenant, Herrmann [played by David Eigenberg]. We see now this relationship with Kylie beginning to take off as well. He is growing up before our eyes, and he’s becoming the man that, when he first got on the show, was just an idea, just a dream and aspiration.

The role feels tailor-made for you in a number of ways. Not only because you’re an LGBTQ actor, but you also grew up in Chicago, so the character is literally close to home, too. How do you identify with Ritter, and how are you different?

There are some things that unite Ritter and I. 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. 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.

Ritter has had Mouch and Herrmann to help guide him, and the friendships he’s built with Blake Gallo and Violet Mikami have been highlights of Chicago Fire over the last few years. How would you describe the relationships you’ve formed with the cast?

I think the things that are special when it comes to my cast are the ways in which we are able to find moments together and breathe life into them and enhance them. The ways in which we interact inform us as individuals and as actors. In terms of mentorship in my acting career, that’s something I reserve for the real teachers that I have in my life. Sometimes when I’m on set, those teachers may take the form of Eamonn Walker, who inspires me, or Miranda Rae Mayo, who has really stepped into her this role of leadership on the show, both on-screen and off. She’s a fantastic leading woman to work with. There’s different ways in which I feel like the people that I work so closely with inspire me.

Chicago Fire addressed Ritter’s sexuality when he and Eric had to face homophobia, yet the show doesn’t define him by his sexual orientation. How would you describe the approach to his personal life? What would you like to see for him in that respect in the next season?

I would say that the sort of inconsequential nature of Ritter’s sexuality has allowed audiences to get well acquainted with who he is in service. One of the key elements of a show like ours is, “Who are they when they show up to work?” That being said, I think there has been a lot of expressing in terms of Ritter just being who he is and his presence in other people’s lives. And by the same token, there is an exploration that I feel we can lean into going forward with Ritter in his love life and seeing him in situations with Violet and Gallo. Those are his best friends, and we know a lot about their love lives, and we don’t actually know very much about Ritter’s. I think it would be fun to play more with that, and I’m hopeful that is a bridge we’ll cross in the future.

Audiences may not know that Ritter wasn’t your first One Chicago character. You guest-starred in a Chicago Med Season 3 episode playing the son of one of Dr. Will Halstead’s patients. Have you ever gone back and watched that episode?

Honestly, I really haven’t. I’m not too predisposed to comparison, as much as I can help it. I’m forward-oriented and interested in continuing my growth. That Chicago Med episode that you’re referencing [“Devil in Disguise”] was my first time doing television of any kind and my first time on a set of that size. And so I think, in a lot of ways, it helped prime me for my role on Chicago Fire.

Speaking of other ventures, fans might not know that you’re also a singer and musician, and you have some new music coming out shortly. When did that become part of your career, and how would you describe your upcoming music?

I was also a part of the Chicago Children’s Choir, which was a fantastic foundation and base for my musical knowledge and inclinations. After that, I did musical theater in Chicago with my uncle’s production company and other theaters, as well as the After School Matters program. I did Godspell, I did West Side Story, I did The Wiz. I have a background in musical theater, and when I decided I wanted to work on my craft as an actor specifically, that’s when I left some of it behind.

But even since then, I’ve been a part of different bands, and I’ve been a part of art spaces that help to facilitate music and visual art. It’s always been a really central part of my life. The music that I’ve been in the studio recording with my collaborator Danny, it’s from my point of view, and it’s in my voice, as opposed to something that I’m lending my vocal talents to. That’s what’s really exciting about this because it’s something that I’ve always wanted to do, and I’ve just been waiting for the right time.

You’ve garnered a pretty big fan base from Chicago Fire fans who’ve really embraced Ritter and come to root for him. Are there other projects you’ve completed that you’d suggest they check out while waiting for Season 12 to premiere?

I’m also a director, producer, and writer. I created a web series a few years back called The T, which explores the dynamics between a Black queer man from the south side of Chicago and a white trans woman from the north side of Chicago. On paper, they’re completely different, but in reality, they have become chosen family and have learned how to support one another through their struggles. That was really important to me and for me, because it helped me embrace who I am, and it’s a loosely autobiographical dramatization of the thought processes that I had as a young queer person trying to be okay with who I am.

In that same regard, I have executive produced a pair of short films that are in the festival circuit now. I’m very excited about them. They’re called Whole and Six Feet Apart. Six Feet Apart is about Mexican [culture] and queerness and masculinity. My good friend Isaac Gomez is a brilliant writer [who] penned the script for that, and it is also kind of loosely autobiographical and takes place in his hometown of El Paso, Texas. And what’s great about it is my belief that representation, when it’s true and authentic, is not just about who is on our screen but also who is off camera. What we did is we went into that community, and we hired all of the crew and all of the cast from El Paso.

Whole is an exploration [of[ blackness. It’s centered on a 12-year-old boy named Brandon, who grows up in a predominantly white suburb of Chicago. We get to see him try to puzzle out what it means to be a part of and yet outside of a community and where his identity ultimately leads him. These are things that are near and dear to my heart because I exist at the intersection of blackness and queerness. And having been on the outskirts at different times in my life, I think finding your way back to yourself is an important journey that we can explore more of, and these films do just that. So I’m really excited for people to see them.