On Fire. Chicago Fire.

Well, one of my dreams finally came true.  On September 24, I shot an episode of Chicago Fire.  A two-line role on a network series.

It was my first audition for any TV episodic, so I didn’t expect much to come from it.  The audition lasted 30 seconds, tops. A week later, I was put on check avail - again, i thought, well that’s nice, I’m in the top two or three for this role.  Then the following week, I got the call from my agent that I actually got the part.

I only told people who were super close, until I had my costume fitting.  This was when it all became real. I had caught up on the previous season (which surprisingly hit me squarely in the feels), and to be in the same wardrobe department as the whole Chicago Fire/PD/Med universe was overwhelming.  Oliver Platt, S Epatha Merkerson, Gary Cole, David Eisenberg had all been there (I assumed at least), and certainly my friends and colleagues who had been on the show certainly had come through here. I snapped the above photo while waiting to try on suits.

After that, I told a bunch of people, even though I still wasn’t quite sure it was really real.  I bided time until it was finally time for me to go to set - 6:30am on a Monday morning. Dave Eigenberg was the first to introduce himself as we got onto the van to go to set (nbd, just Steve from Sex and the City, not a big deal at allllll).  A relatively unfamiliar face was the next in, he introduced himself as Steve; I later realized I’d seen him star on Broadway a few years ago in Hand to God (Steven Boyer). Sure enough, then followed Mouch, Otis, Severide, Casey into the van. And I was an equal.  They treated me, this two-liner actor, as an equal. Mind = Blown.

Since this is a professional website, I’ll end the celebrity gushing there.  The day was long, we shot at a hotel on south Lake Shore Drive. I had left my cell phone in my trailer, so I didn’t take any pictures, but I’m glad I did that, because it kept me focused on the task at hand.  I soaked it all in - it was one of the most harmonious and professional workplaces I’d ever worked in. Every person on set was there to do their job, and they did it very well, with positive attitudes and respect for each other.

​While I’ve been making my acting career my top priority for over a decade, I was still shocked that this first step into television was actually happening.  No doubt it will take much more work and auditions and bit parts to get where I want to be going. But for the first time, I feel like it’s truly possible.

I think this episode of Chicago Fire will air on Wednesday, October 31 at 8pm.  I'll be in the first five minutes.