Over its 12 seasons, “Chicago Fire” fans have fallen in love with Firehouse 51’s diverse team, led by series star Taylor Kinney. As it happens, not all of that painful firefighting is newsworthy. One of the original actors was real-life firefighter Anthony “Tony” Ferraris, also named Tony on the show. In addition to his role in the series, Ferraris was also assigned to the very real Chicago Fire Brigade 2.
Tony has been a memorable character since “Chicago Fire” debuted in 2012, starting out as a supporting character and gradually becoming part of the main crew. Since then, he has appeared in nearly 200 episodes, as well as several episodes in the spin-off series “Chicago Med” and “Chicago P.D.” This lovable character brings more than Chicago charm to the popular series: It was his real-life experience that landed him the role.
“A friend of mine got an email from the Firefighters Association saying the show was looking for extras. He asked me if I would go with him to the audition. I went with him and I guess they like me,” Ferraris explained to Wolf Entertainment in 2020.
“On the first day of filming, the crew realized that no one in the cast could drive for the team. Steve Chikerotis, the show’s technical consultant, whom I had known for many years, asked me if want to drive. I said sure, and it was great.” How did it all happen? I started as a supporting actor and then [Chicago Fire co-creator] Derek Haas approached me around Episode 5 or 6 and asked me to read for him, and then they started lettering for me.
Ferraris was born and raised in the Windy City, a true Chicago firefighter. Although he never intended to act, he says balancing his real day job as a firefighter with his on-screen gigs has been worth it. In addition to his acting role, Ferraris also served as a script consultant to ensure the series accurately detailed a fire department:
“At first, Derek [Haas, writer and executive producer] used to come to the fire station and come with me while we worked. There were certain people at the fire station who always said something funny or sassy , so I tell them those things. They’ll ask me questions like, ‘Hey, if you forced this door open, what would you do?’ But our job, firefighting, is stranger than fiction.”
Which is more difficult: Acting or firefighting? Ferraris admits that firefighting is dangerous but acting is extremely difficult. And he says he feels lucky that some of the show’s stars, such as Jesse Spencer and Taylor Kinney, gave him some solid advice throughout the show.
