Daniel Kyri: From Chicago Fire to Hamlet and a New Stage Chapter
The Chicago actor spent years building Darren Ritter into a fan favourite. Now Daniel Kyri is back on stage, making music and taking his career in several directions at once.
Introduction
Daniel Kyri spent seven years walking into fictional fires.
For many viewers, that is where they know him from. He played firefighter Darren Ritter on NBC’s Chicago Fire, turning what began as a small recurring part into one of Firehouse 51’s familiar faces.
But Ritter tells only part of the story.
Kyri was working in Chicago theatre before the NBC role arrived. He had performed at Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Lookingglass. He had written and directed his own screen work. Years later, he voiced Hamlet, released his first EP and made his Off-Broadway debut at The Public Theater.
That wider career is easier to see now.
His run on Chicago Fire ended in 2025. By summer 2026, Kyri was playing Florizel in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale at the Delacorte Theater in New York’s Central Park.
Quick Facts About Daniel Kyri
| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Daniel Kyri |
| Birthplace | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Profession | Actor, writer, director, filmmaker and singer |
| Education | BA in Theatre, University of Illinois Chicago |
| Known for | Darren Ritter in Chicago Fire |
| Chicago Fire debut | 2018 |
| Series regular | Promoted for Season 9 |
| Final Ritter episode | Chicago Fire Season 14, Episode 2, aired October 8, 2025 |
| Major theatre work | Objects in the Mirror, Hamlet, Ms. Blakk for President, The Winter’s Tale |
| 2025 audio role | Hamlet in Make-Believe Association’s Hamlet |
| Music project | CHILDISH GAMES EP |
| 2026 role | Florizel in The Winter’s Tale |
| Hometown connection | Chicago |
Age note: Several online sources give different birth years for Daniel Kyri. Because those records do not fully agree, this article does not state an exact age as confirmed fact.
Daniel Kyri Grew Up in Chicago
Chicago is more than a filming location in Kyri’s story.
He grew up there. The city became his training ground too.
Kyri joined After School Matters acting programmes in 2008. The Chicago organisation later featured him among its alumni and quoted him saying that the programme changed his world.
That experience came before the network-TV career.
It gave him space to act, learn and see creative work as something he might actually pursue.
Kyri eventually studied theatre at the University of Illinois Chicago, commonly known as UIC. The university identifies him as a BA Theatre alumnus.
That detail matters.
Some online profiles have named the wrong university. UIC itself confirms the connection.
Theatre Came Before Chicago Fire
Kyri didn’t suddenly appear on television.
He had already built serious Chicago stage credits.
Steppenwolf lists his work in productions including Monster and Ms. Blakk for President. His Chicago theatre credits have also included Hamlet at The Gift Theatre, Tug of War at Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Moby Dick at Lookingglass Theatre Company.
Then came a big 2017 role.
Kyri made his Goodman Theatre debut as Shedrick Yarkpai in Objects in the Mirror, written by Charles Smith and directed by Chuck Smith.
The play followed a Liberian refugee trying to start a new life in Australia while carrying the weight of what happened before he arrived there.
It asked a lot from its lead actor.
Kyri got noticed.
UIC later highlighted the performance, while Goodman confirms that Objects in the Mirror marked his debut with the theatre.
His official site describes him as a Jeff-nominated actor and lists recognition including Chicago Reader’s Best Actor of 2017 and a Windy City Times 30 Under 30 honour.
Television was coming.
Just not yet.
Daniel Kyri Played Hamlet Before Darren Ritter
There is a nice link between Kyri’s theatre past and the role that made him widely known.
In 2018, he was playing Hamlet at The Gift Theatre.
At the same time, he was close to stepping away from acting for a while.
Kyri told Wolf Entertainment that he had several theatre jobs booked during 2018, but he was considering getting a regular job once the year ended.
Then casting director Claire Simon called.
Kyri had already made a small appearance on Chicago Med. He first went in for another One Chicago audition, then got called for a possible recurring part on Chicago Fire.
He booked it.
That character became Darren Ritter.
Darren Ritter Started as a Small Chicago Fire Role
Nobody knew Ritter would stay for years.
Not even Kyri.
The role was originally presented as a possible recurring character. Kyri told Wolf Entertainment that this kind of job would normally mean only a few episodes.
His first episode arrived in 2018.
Viewers met Ritter during Season 7.
The young firefighter had lost confidence after freezing during an emergency call. Mouch saw something in him and pushed him to keep going.
That relationship became part of Ritter’s foundation.
Kyri later named Season 7’s “This Isn’t Charity” as one of his favourite episodes because Mouch and Herrmann help Ritter see that he belongs at Firehouse 51.
The character kept coming back.
Then the job got bigger.
Daniel Kyri Became a Chicago Fire Series Regular
By 2020, Kyri had moved from recurring cast member to series regular.
Wolf Entertainment announced the promotion ahead of Season 9.
Ritter became a steady presence at 51.
He worked beside characters including Mouch, Herrmann, Violet Mikami and Blake Gallo. His friendships helped give the firehouse stories a lighter, more personal side between emergencies.
Ritter was gay.
The show didn’t hide that.
Wolf Entertainment described him as the first openly gay firefighter on the One Chicago squad.
For Kyri, that representation carried personal meaning.
He has spoken publicly about his experiences as a Black queer artist and about the value of seeing Black queer people presented as full human beings rather than flat stereotypes. In a 2025 interview with Windy City Times, he discussed identity, representation and finding his own voice.
Ritter’s sexuality was part of him.
It wasn’t his whole personality.
That distinction helped the character last.
Why Did Daniel Kyri Leave Chicago Fire?
Kyri’s long run ended after Season 13.
His exit became public in 2025, and Ritter returned briefly at the start of Season 14 so the show could give the character an on-screen departure.
His last episode was Season 14, Episode 2, “Primary Search,” which aired October 8, 2025.
The story sent Ritter to New York.
His former boyfriend Dwayne had been shot there. After going to see him, Ritter began reconsidering where he wanted his own life to go.
He chose to move to New York and be with Dwayne.
It was a goodbye.
But not a death.
That leaves room for Ritter to appear again someday if the story calls for it.
For now, though, Daniel Kyri is no longer a regular cast member on Chicago Fire.
The T Showed Another Side of Daniel Kyri
Acting has never been his only job.
Kyri’s official site describes him as an actor, writer/director, filmmaker and singer.
One of the clearest examples is The T.
Kyri wrote, directed and starred in the made-for-web series, work that The Public Theater still highlights in his current professional bio.
The project matters because it shows a side of Kyri that Chicago Fire viewers may have missed.
He wasn’t waiting for another actor’s role.
He was making his own work too.
That instinct has stayed with him.
Hamlet Returned in 2025
Years after playing Hamlet on stage in Chicago, Kyri returned to the character.
This time, listeners couldn’t see him.
They heard him.
Kyri voiced Hamlet in Make-Believe Association’s audio adaptation of Shakespeare’s play.
The production was adapted and directed by Jeremy McCarter, with sound design by Mikhail Fiksel. Make-Believe Association lists Kyri as Hamlet alongside Ayanna Bria Bakari as Ophelia and a larger voice cast.
It was a different acting test.
No costumes.
No television close-ups.
Just voice, text and sound.
The Public Theater now describes the production as an award-winning audio drama, showing that the project has become an established part of Kyri’s post-Chicago Fire work.
Daniel Kyri Released His First EP
Then came music.
Kyri released his debut EP, CHILDISH GAMES, on July 18, 2025.
The project has four songs:
- GOT ME
- MAYBE
- CHILDISH GAMES
- I WANT U (GONE)
Amazon Music lists the EP at about 11 minutes in total.
Kyri had discussed the project shortly before release during his 2025 Windy City Times interview. He described it as his debut music project and said the four-song release felt close to his own voice as an artist.
That move makes sense beside his earlier work.
Actor.
Writer.
Director.
Now recording artist too.
The common thread is simple: Kyri likes telling stories through more than one format.
The Winter’s Tale Became His Big 2026 Stage Move
One of Kyri’s biggest career updates arrived in summer 2026.
He joined The Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of The Winter’s Tale at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.
Kyri played Florizel.
The cast included Raúl Esparza as Leontes, Lily Rabe as Hermione, Isabela Ferrer as Perdita, Chuck Cooper as the Old Shepherd, Gilbert Owuor as Polixenes and Steven Skybell in the roles of Antigonus and Autolycus.
Daniel Sullivan directed the production.
For Kyri, the job carried another first.
The Public Theater described The Winter’s Tale as his Off-Broadway debut.
That is a major shift from his NBC years.
He had spent a long stretch working on a network drama filmed in his hometown. Now he was performing Shakespeare at one of New York’s best-known public theatre institutions.
And, oddly enough, Shakespeare had been there near the start of the Chicago Fire story too.
Kyri was playing Hamlet when the Ritter audition arrived.
Eight years later, he was back in Shakespeare after Ritter’s exit.
Daniel Kyri’s Career Is Bigger Than Darren Ritter
Darren Ritter will probably remain Kyri’s most recognisable screen role for some time.
That’s understandable.
He played the firefighter across multiple seasons of a successful network drama. Millions of viewers had years to get used to seeing him at Firehouse 51.
But looking only at Ritter misses a lot.
Before NBC, Kyri worked across Chicago theatre.
He appeared at Goodman.
He worked at Steppenwolf.
He performed Shakespeare.
He made his own screen project.
After Chicago Fire, he didn’t simply chase another long-running TV role. His visible work moved through audio drama, music and live theatre.
That makes his next step hard to predict.
And that’s probably the interesting part.
Daniel Kyri’s Theatre Credits
Kyri’s stage history stretches well beyond one or two productions.
Confirmed theatre work includes:
- Objects in the Mirror — Goodman Theatre
- Monster — Steppenwolf Theatre Company
- Ms. Blakk for President — Steppenwolf Theatre Company
- Hamlet — The Gift Theatre
- Tug of War — Chicago Shakespeare Theater
- Moby Dick — Lookingglass Theatre Company
- The Winter’s Tale — The Public Theater
Steppenwolf, Goodman, UIC and The Public Theater each document parts of this stage career.
Daniel Kyri Movies and TV Shows
Kyri’s screen career includes both television and independent film.
His documented credits include:
- Chicago Fire
- Chicago Med
- Chicago P.D.
- The T
- The Thing About Harry
- Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party
- Unexpected
- Killing Eleanor
- Perfect Day
Goodman and Steppenwolf both list several of these screen credits in their professional biographies for Kyri.
Still, Chicago Fire sits far above the rest in terms of mainstream exposure.
That’s the role that changed his public profile.
What Is Daniel Kyri Doing Now?
As of August 2026, the clearest recent chapter in Kyri’s career is theatre.
He played Florizel in The Public Theater’s 2026 production of The Winter’s Tale at the Delacorte Theater.
His recent work also includes the CHILDISH GAMES EP and the Make-Believe Association audio production of Hamlet.
So the post-Chicago Fire period already has its own identity.
He’s acting.
He’s singing.
He’s back on stage.
And he is doing work that connects surprisingly well with the artist he was before Firehouse 51.
Final Thought
Daniel Kyri could have been known only as Darren Ritter.
He isn’t.
His career began in Chicago arts programmes and theatre, grew through major local stages, then reached a much wider audience through Chicago Fire. Ritter lasted far longer than originally expected.
That chapter is closed for now.
The next one looks different.
Hamlet gave Kyri a voice-first acting role. CHILDISH GAMES put his own music out into the world. The Winter’s Tale brought him to The Public Theater for his Off-Broadway debut.
Different work. Same artist.
And Daniel Kyri still looks like he’s figuring out how many ways he can tell a story.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Daniel Kyri?
Daniel Kyri is a Chicago-born actor, writer, director, filmmaker and singer. He is best known for playing Darren Ritter on NBC’s Chicago Fire.
Where is Daniel Kyri from?
He is from Chicago, Illinois.
Where did Daniel Kyri study?
Kyri is a BA Theatre alumnus of the University of Illinois Chicago.
Who did Daniel Kyri play on Chicago Fire?
He played firefighter Darren Ritter.
When did Daniel Kyri join Chicago Fire?
Kyri first appeared as Ritter in 2018 during Season 7.
Did Daniel Kyri leave Chicago Fire?
Yes. Ritter’s final regular departure aired on October 8, 2025, in Season 14’s “Primary Search.”
Why did Ritter leave Chicago Fire?
In the story, Ritter chose to move to New York and be with Dwayne.
Is Daniel Kyri a singer?
Yes. His official site identifies him as a singer, and he released the four-song CHILDISH GAMES EP in July 2025.
Did Daniel Kyri play Hamlet?
Yes. He played Hamlet on stage earlier in his career and voiced the character in Make-Believe Association’s audio production.
What did Daniel Kyri do in 2026?
He played Florizel in The Winter’s Tale at The Public Theater’s Delacorte Theater in Central Park, marking his Off-Broadway debut.
