Daniel Kyri

Kyri grew up on the South Side of Chicago.^[1] He performed in plays as a child,^[2] crediting his mother for his love of the arts and enrolling him in the After School Matters program when he was 13.^[3] In 2007, he appeared in the controversial CBS reality show Kid Nation when he was 10 years old, going by the name D.K.^[2] He won a $20,000 "gold star" awarded by his peers.^[4]

Kyri attended the University of Illinois at Chicago, graduating with a BA in Theater Performance.^[2]

Kyri starred in the 2014 short film Perfect Day as Desmond, a composite character based on Derrion Albert.^[5] He had roles in Chicago theater productions including Moby Dick, Macbeth and Ms. Blakk for President.^[1][2] In 2015, he portrayed Logan in the film Henry Gamble's Birthday Party, and Brock in the TV mini-series Saranormal.^[2] 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.^[6]

In 2018, Kyri had the title role in the Gift Theatre production of Hamlet, giving what the Chicago Tribune called "a standout performance."^[2] 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.^[1] It premiered with a screening at the Chicago Cultural Center.^[7]

Kyri is best known for playing Darren Ritter on Chicago Fire.^[8] He auditioned for Chicago Fire in 2018, with the role of 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.^[1][9]

Kyri has a role as a YouTube paranormal investigator in the 2022 Shudder lo-fi horror film Night's End.^[10][11]

Kyri identifies as queer.^[1][12] 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."^[6]

• Chicago Reader Best Actor 2017^[13]
• Windy City Times 30 under 30^[13]