Herrmann’s Actor Nearly Walked Away from Hollywood
It’s hard to imagine Chicago Fire without David Eigenberg as fan-favorite firefighter Christopher Herrmann. For more than a decade, Herrmann has been the heart of Firehouse 51, bringing humor, grit, and humanity to NBC’s hit series. But in a candid interview on the brand-new One Chicago Podcast, Eigenberg revealed that his acting career was on the brink before landing the role that changed everything.
“I walked in and I was like, dead in the water seven years after Sex and the City,” Eigenberg admitted. “And I had no career. I went back to contracting. I got my [general contracting] license in California. We left New York. And I’d gone to a job at a copper smelter plant — sounds like I’m making crap up right now — out in Salt Lake City. And I was dead.”
A Life-Changing Encounter
At that low point, Eigenberg ran into a friend who helped him secure an audition for Chicago Fire. He vividly remembers walking into the room with Dick Wolf himself sitting close to the front.
“I said to my wife, ‘I don’t know what happened there, but I know that Dick responded to me,’” Eigenberg recalled. “Because if they don’t respond to you, you can’t win them.”
When the call came in that he had landed the role, Eigenberg didn’t hesitate. “Whatever they offer me, whatever they’re giving me, don’t change it. Take it, before they take it back,” he told his wife. He even joked that he would have taken half of what NBC was offering, just for the chance to join the cast.
Casting Herrmann: From “Ball of Fire” to Heart of the Show
According to P.D. producer Brian Luce, who hosted the interview, Herrmann wasn’t initially envisioned as the character we know today. Showrunner Derek Haas once described Eigenberg as a “ball of fire that shouldn’t have been” because Herrmann was originally meant to be a larger-than-life figure. But when Eigenberg walked into the audition, the casting team immediately knew they had found their guy.
Not only did Eigenberg redefine Herrmann—he also became the emotional anchor of the show. As Luce put it: “They found the heart of their show.”
The One Chicago Podcast Expands
Eigenberg’s heartfelt story was shared during the premiere of the One Chicago Podcast, which dives deep into behind-the-scenes stories from Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., and Chicago Med. Future episodes will feature stars like S. Epatha Merkerson (Sharon Goodwin, Chicago Med) and LaRoyce Hawkins (Kevin Atwater, Chicago P.D.).
New episodes of the podcast drop on Thursdays, just after fresh One Chicago installments air on NBC.
Don’t Miss Herrmann’s Return
David Eigenberg will be back in action when Chicago Fire Season 14 premieres on Wednesday, October 1 at 9/8c on NBC, sandwiched between Chicago Med Season 11 and Chicago P.D. Season 13 in the One Chicago lineup. Episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
From copper smelters in Utah to firefighting in Chicago, Eigenberg’s journey proves that sometimes the best roles arrive when you least expect them.
