He enjoys his character’s subtle ‘eye roll moments’
I’ve heard your relationship with onscreen buddy Gallo described as a “bromance.” Do you view their friendship in that way?
Yeah, I totally do. [Laughs.] The two of them are really fun together and there are moments where they poke fun. I find the most joy and authenticity in representing their relationship in the moments that are, what I call, “the eye rolls” because fundamentally — apart from the job and the things that these characters have to carry within themselves in order to accomplish the job, those are things that they share in common — there isn’t a whole lot of commonality between them, other than that firehouse-adjacent experience.
I feel Gallo has done quite a bit of aging up over the course of his time on the show. There’s been a really great arc that’s been like a slower burn, seeing him sort of mature in certain ways. Alberto does a freaking phenomenal job of this, but do I think that Ritter might be a little more emotionally mature than Gallo? I’m going to go with yes, and I’m sure Alberto will fight me on this later. It leads to these moments where Ritter watches Gallo do something or say something, and Ritter is over it. That’s the eye roll moment. There’s that line that’s there of, “Yeah, we’re friends, we’re super cool, and I love this guy, but oh my gosh, he’s ridiculous.” That gives you the bromance element.
What’s your real-life vibe with Alberto and Hanako? Do you guys hang out off set?
Alberto, Hanako, and I get along really well, and I’m so grateful for that. I think that my experience has been slightly different than theirs. Coming into the show, from day one, I’ve always felt really welcomed by everybody, and I know that they have as well, but the difference is, even as part of the younger cast on the show, I have a lot of established roots in the community, in Chicago, being from here that they didn’t.
They would come to me and be like, “We don’t want to just work, we want to experience the city.” Part of our connection has been me showing them what I call My Chicago, which is a blend of some of the touristy stuff, like an architecture tour or something like that. I also take them to one of my favorite spots, The Hideout, for a poetry slam night or a comedy show. I might take them to see some live music or whatever, to some of my favorite spots.
We’ve really bonded through me being able to show them my version of Chicago, the Chicago that I know and love. My relationship with them is really great, and it’s growing. We are at the point where we’re legit homies. It’s not just the work connection, we’ve gone on a couple trips together and done stuff like that. It’s a lot smoother. I have a lot less eye roll moments in our real relationship. [Laughs]
Taylor Kinney is ‘goofy’ on set
What’s it like working with Taylor Kinney? Any funny or memorable moments with him?
Taylor is actually a bit of a jokester. I don’t know if a lot of people know that about him because on the outside everybody’s like, “Oh, sizzle, sizzle.” He’s the smolder guy or whatever. [Laughs.] I’m over here like, “Eh, no, not a thing.” We have a lot of fun. He can be kind of goofy sometimes, which I actually really enjoy.
Taylor being who he is, super down to earth and ready to crack a joke, it’s really dope. I’ll be on set, running my lines or whatever, and we may have said “good morning” earlier in the trailers or wherever base camp is. Then, totally unsolicited, he’ll come by out of nowhere and be like, “Hey D, look at this,” and show me whatever epic fail video that he found on Instagram. We’re laughing and he’ll be like, “All right, nice to see you” and dip off and go to [craft services] and grab something or go shoot a scene. It does happen enough over the course of a season where I’m like, “This dude is so random.” I really enjoy that about him.
What’s it been like losing co-star Jesse Spencer as Captain Matt Casey, both personally and professionally?
That one’s been a little difficult. The thing that I feel like a lot of people may forget, and I feel like I can attest to this … one of the things that’s always important to note is that, as much as we love doing this job and dedicating ourselves to the craft of storytelling and being a part of this show, we do all still have lives that are outside of our work life, as well. There are times when we might have to move on for whatever personal reason. That doesn’t make it less difficult for those of us who are a part of what he helped build. Jesse is the consummate professional, but I think what’s more valuable than that is that he was such a powerful and caring and intentional leader on our set.
Yeah, I miss it. I miss having him around and I miss his antics. He’s another one, he would whip out a ukulele or guitar and be fiddling around on it. I do miss that element of it too, but it’s understandable. He’s got stuff he’s got to do, and you can’t help but say, “I respect you and I wish you well and all the best and we’re really going to miss you.” That’s what’s true. It’s been an adjustment for everybody, cast and crew alike. He’s got big, big shoes.
