Who is Daniel Kyri?
Daniel Kyri was born on October 10, 1992, and spent his childhood on the South Side of Chicago. He participated in theatrical performances during his youth, attributing his passion for the arts to his mother, who enrolled him in the After School Matters program at the age of 13.
In 2007, at the age of 14, he appeared on the controversial CBS reality series Kid Nation, where he was known as D.K. and earned a $20,000 “gold star” awarded by his fellow contestants. Kyri pursued higher education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater Performance.
Career
Daniel Kyri featured as Desmond, a character modeled after Derrion Albert, in the 2014 short film Perfect Day. His theatrical contributions in Chicago include performances in Moby Dick, Macbeth, and Ms. Blakk for President.
In 2015, he played Logan in the film Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party and took on the role of Brock in the mini-series Saranormal.
He was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Equity Award in 2017 for Principal Actor in a Play for his work in Objects in the Mirror at the Goodman Theatre.
In 2018, Daniel Kyri starred in the title role of the Gift Theatre’s adaptation of Hamlet, receiving high praise from the Chicago Tribune, which referred to his performance as “remarkable.”
Together with Bea Cordelia, he co-developed and featured in a web series named The T, which examines the relationship between a white trans woman and a Black queer man in Chicago. The series was launched with a screening at the Chicago Cultural Center.
Daniel Kyri auditioned for Chicago Fire in 2018, where he was cast as Darren Ritter, a role that was initially expected to last for 2-3 episodes.
Over the next two years, he appeared as a recurring guest in most episodes, ultimately being promoted to a series regular in August 2020. Furthermore, he took on the role of a YouTube paranormal investigator in the 2022 Shudder lo-fi horror film Night’s End.
Personal Life
Daniel Kyri portrays Darren Ritter, the first openly gay firefighter in Chicago Fire. In an interview with TV Insider, Kyri, who is also openly gay, discussed his character’s sexual orientation.
“The decision for Ritter’s coming out to be a little bit of a non-event was definitely the right one. In terms of the kinds of stories we see with LGBTQ characters, I think some of the negative pushback stuff can get to be overdone or overwrought.
To just have this character say, ‘I’m gay,’ and have everyone be like, ‘Cool,’ was its own little revolution. As a queer actor, I actually really appreciated the way that they handled it.”
His current relationship status remains undisclosed.
Net Worth
Daniel Kyri is an American actor with an estimated net worth of $600K. He joined the cast of Chicago Fire in 2018 and quickly became a series regular.
