Daniel Kyri (born October 10, 1994) is an American actor, best known for portraying firefighter Darren Ritter on Chicago Fire.
Kyri was born on October 10, 1994 [1] and grew up on the South Side of Chicago. [2] He performed in plays as a child, [3] crediting his mother for his love of the arts and enrolling him in the After School Matters program when he was 13. [4] In 2007, he appeared in the controversial CBS reality show Kid Nation, when he was 12-years-old (though he pretended to be 14 at the time) going by the name D.K. [3] and winning a $20,000 "gold star" awarded by his peers. [5]
Kyri attended the University of Illinois at Chicago, graduating with a BA in Theater Performance. [3]
Kyri starred in the 2014 short film Perfect Day as Desmond, a composite character based on Derrion Albert. [6] He had roles in Chicago theater productions including Moby Dick, Macbeth and Ms. Blakk for President. [2] [3] [4] [7] In 2015, he portrayed Logan in the film Henry Gamble's Birthday Party, and Brock in the TV mini-series Saranormal. [3] In 2017, he was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Equity Award for Principal Actor in a Play for Objects in the Mirror at the Goodman Theatre. [8]
In 2018, Kyri had the title role in the Gift Theatre production of Hamlet, giving what the Chicago Tribune called "a standout performance." [3] With Bea Cordelia, he co-wrote and starred in a web series called The T about the relationship between a white trans woman and a Black queer man in Chicago. [2] It premiered with a screening at the Chicago Cultural Center. [9]
Kyri auditioned for Chicago Fire in 2018, with the role of Darren Ritter initially intended to last 2-3 episodes. He was a recurring guest appearing in most episodes over the next two years, before being promoted to series regular in August 2020. [2] [10] He has a role as a YouTube paranormal investigator in the 2022 Shudder lo-fi horror film Night's End. [11] [12]
Kyri identifies as queer. [2] [14] He has said, "I can't say I had very many examples, of Black queer people growing up ... I spent a lot of my youth lost at sea, reconciling with my sexuality." [8]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | Perfect Day | Desmond | Short film |
2015 | Unexpected | David | Uncredited |
2015 | Henry Gamble's Birthday Party | Logan | |
2019 | Mantoru | Young Warrior | Short film |
2020 | The Thing About Harry | Volunteer | Television film |
2020 | Killing Eleanor | Will | |
2022 | Night's End | Dark Corners |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | Kid Nation | Himself | Reality show |
2017 | Sarahnormal | Brock | |
2018 | Chicago Med | Lane Tucker | Episode: "Devil in Disguise" |
The T | Carter | 6 episodes | |
2018–present | Chicago Fire | Darren Ritter | |
2019 | Chicago P.D. | Episode: "Infection, Part III" | |
2020 | Acting for a Cause | Mika | Episode: "Hit the Wall" |
Daniel Kyri (born October 10, 1994) is an American actor, best known for portraying firefighter Darren Ritter on Chicago Fire.
Kyri was born on October 10, 1994 [1] and grew up on the South Side of Chicago. [2] He performed in plays as a child, [3] crediting his mother for his love of the arts and enrolling him in the After School Matters program when he was 13. [4] In 2007, he appeared in the controversial CBS reality show Kid Nation, when he was 12-years-old (though he pretended to be 14 at the time) going by the name D.K. [3] and winning a $20,000 "gold star" awarded by his peers. [5]
Kyri attended the University of Illinois at Chicago, graduating with a BA in Theater Performance. [3]
Kyri starred in the 2014 short film Perfect Day as Desmond, a composite character based on Derrion Albert. [6] He had roles in Chicago theater productions including Moby Dick, Macbeth and Ms. Blakk for President. [2] [3] [4] [7] In 2015, he portrayed Logan in the film Henry Gamble's Birthday Party, and Brock in the TV mini-series Saranormal. [3] In 2017, he was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Equity Award for Principal Actor in a Play for Objects in the Mirror at the Goodman Theatre. [8]
In 2018, Kyri had the title role in the Gift Theatre production of Hamlet, giving what the Chicago Tribune called "a standout performance." [3] With Bea Cordelia, he co-wrote and starred in a web series called The T about the relationship between a white trans woman and a Black queer man in Chicago. [2] It premiered with a screening at the Chicago Cultural Center. [9]
Kyri auditioned for Chicago Fire in 2018, with the role of Darren Ritter initially intended to last 2-3 episodes. He was a recurring guest appearing in most episodes over the next two years, before being promoted to series regular in August 2020. [2] [10] He has a role as a YouTube paranormal investigator in the 2022 Shudder lo-fi horror film Night's End. [11] [12]
Kyri identifies as queer. [2] [14] He has said, "I can't say I had very many examples, of Black queer people growing up ... I spent a lot of my youth lost at sea, reconciling with my sexuality." [8]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | Perfect Day | Desmond | Short film |
2015 | Unexpected | David | Uncredited |
2015 | Henry Gamble's Birthday Party | Logan | |
2019 | Mantoru | Young Warrior | Short film |
2020 | The Thing About Harry | Volunteer | Television film |
2020 | Killing Eleanor | Will | |
2022 | Night's End | Dark Corners |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | Kid Nation | Himself | Reality show |
2017 | Sarahnormal | Brock | |
2018 | Chicago Med | Lane Tucker | Episode: "Devil in Disguise" |
The T | Carter | 6 episodes | |
2018–present | Chicago Fire | Darren Ritter | |
2019 | Chicago P.D. | Episode: "Infection, Part III" | |
2020 | Acting for a Cause | Mika | Episode: "Hit the Wall" |