Daniel Kyri said starring in “Chicago Fire” “forced” him to expand his narrow vision

of what he thought could happen to him as a gay actor. On the NBC legacy television show,

he plays a gay firefighter, Darren Ritter, who suffers from imposter syndrome and relies

on veteran firefighters to protect his presence. The 28-year-old actor, who identifies as gay, told TODAY.com how that experience on set affected his confidence. “In many ways, it forced me to grow up,” he said. “I am a person who has a lot of outdated notions, maybe even prejudices, about how to be a successful actor and the ways in which I imagine I will have to contort myself to fit into one. some pattern. The opportunity to go there (on set) and be the representation that I needed growing up was really what made me, as actor Daniel Kyri, blossom.” Kyri joined “Chicago Fire” in season seven in 2018 and said he hopes both new and longtime viewers learn empathy from his character. He explains: “I don’t like words like ‘tolerance’ and the like because I believe these connotations are very dangerous and one-sided as if there were a majority group whose acceptance we must beg for. from there.

“I reject that idea. Still, I say that I’m just thinking about the empathy and the opportunity to really learn from someone like Ritter, who certainly – represents a lot of things for the LGBTQ+ community – but is also just one human.” Ritter definitely impacted Kyri beyond representation, Kyri said. He is now a self-represented fire authority. “Now I’m someone who when I’m invited into someone’s house, I’m looking for the fire extinguisher and checking the batteries in the smoke detector just to say, ‘Okay, everything’s fine in here,’” he describes. “Depends on the code.” And for anyone who questions the authenticity of the fire on the hit NBC drama, Kyri says the crew literally brought the heat. “We have a burn phase designed to facilitate burn control.

… The fire you see when you watch the show is real,” he said. “The heat is also very real. … You’ll see us sweating in front of the camera and you’ll think, ‘This is so real.’ No, it’s because it’s hot.” “Chicago Fire” fans now even have the chance to see some of Ritter’s rugged gear on display at the Paley Center’s special exhibition in New York through July 9. On the show, Mouch (Christian Stolte) constantly shows up for Ritter and showers him with affection when self-doubt causes him to question himself as a firefighter. Ritter even left at one point, but then he returned to the fire station. Kyri said he has a Mouch in real life. “My touch is me and it’s also my community,” he said. “I think I have the right to say that.” Those champions in his life came about through a lack of support from his biological family. “As a gay man, I have experienced a lot of upheaval in my interpersonal relationships, especially as it relates to my family of origin,” he explains.

“For a long time, when I became the man I am today, I was alone.” He said he had been estranged from his family for about five years and had to ride on his own. “Then along the way, I started attracting people who I jokingly called my tribe because the vibe would appeal to the tribe,” he said. “I began to attract people around me who shared many of the same principles as me. It’s like I’m taking the lead in teaching people how to be with me and how to love me. And then I paid them right back.” Kyri takes a similar approach with her biological family. “We figured it out when they announced that they missed me and they wanted me back in their lives,” he recalls. “And I said, ‘That’s wonderful to hear. However, if I go back, I will still be myself and it is up to you to adapt. I must accept you, not the other way around.” He said his family agreed to his terms. “They responded the only way they could: It was either that or I wouldn’t be in their lives,” he said. “That stance for me is that I hold my power, but also — more importantly — in a position of self-love.” These days, Kyri is being his most authentic self. “I’m more and more in my unapologetic era right now,” he said. “I am celebrating my own personal growth within my identity. I feel truly grounded in myself in a way that felt hard-earned.