Daniel Kyri, known to audiences around the country as firefighter Darren Ritter on NBC’s Chicago Fire, now takes on one of the most iconic and psychologically demanding roles in the theatrical canon - Hamlet. But this isn’t your average Shakespeare revival.
In a stunning new six-episode podcast production by Chicago’s Make-Believe Association, Kyri voices the tortured prince in a full immersive audio experience, placing listeners directly inside Hamlet’s unraveling mind.
With the intimacy of voice-only performance and the complexity of layered sound design, Hamlet as a podcast defies expectations. It’s classical and current. Universal and personal. During our conversation, Kyri opened up about revisiting Shakespeare, honoring grief, and how being a queer Black artist fuels his creative process.
(You can listen to Hamlet now on all major podcast platforms or visit Hamlet.fm.)
MI (Matt Inawat, GoPride): This adaptation of Hamlet immerses listeners inside the prince's unraveling mind. How did you prepare to voice such a psychologically layered role?
DK (Daniel Kyri, Hamlet): I’ve done Shakespeare in my career on stage so far. But it has been a bit of time. I think the last time I touched Shakespeare was probably 2018. A lot of it was just getting back in touch with the foundation of how to approach the text. With Shakespeare in particular, analysis is so important—being able to go in and break down scenes beat by beat to get to the meat of what your character is experiencing. Then you have iambic pentameter, antithesis to hit, and all the tools that are built into Shakespeare's language. You start with the language, and go from there.
Once you have the mastery of the language down, the next step is really engaging with your imagination. This is a character whose entire world has been shattered. It's a journey of him trying and failing and trying again to put the pieces back together. He's processing grief and the loss of his father. That was most important to me: portraying this as someone who has lost his father. It's so easy to get caught up in the epicness of Hamlet, but I wanted to pay attention to his humanity—however flawed it is. My preparation was lots and lots of hours, talking it over with director Jeremy McCarter, associate director Sydney Charles, and sound designer Mikhail Fiksel, to see how my version of Hamlet fit into the world we were building collectively.
MI: Having worked on Shakespeare before, what was your first thought when you were offered the role, especially in this bold new audio format?
makebelieve.fm/Tribeca premiere photo; credit: makebelieve.fm
DK: Because this is my second attempt - I’ll call it an attempt - I was hesitant when Jeremy approached me. I told him why. The truth is, it's such a huge and challenging undertaking - mentally, intellectually, physically, and yes, even in an audio drama. As an actor, you’re using your whole body to authentically experience what Hamlet’s going through. Emotionally, it can be a heavy burden to bear.
But after sitting with all of that, what remained was excitement. I don’t think there’s a version of Hamlet that exists quite the way this one does. It’s really special. I see a project like this and imagine its potential to reach corners of the world this text may not have gotten to otherwise. Everyone has a phone, everyone has headphones—they can tap in and engage with this world on their own time. That accessibility makes it powerful.
And I’ve had plenty of mentors say: if it scares you, you’re on the right track. It made me nervous, so I knew I had to try.
MI: The show premiered to glowing reviews at Tribeca. What was that moment like for you?
DK: That moment at Tribeca was like stepping through a portal. I’d spent the past seven years doing one thing, and suddenly I had the opportunity to step into one of the classics and put my stamp on it in a way that people will always be able to return to. You don’t always get that in theater - it’s so ephemeral. But this version of Hamlet lives in this audio space now.
Sitting in that moment, taking it all in, hearing the feedback - knowing that what we intended for clarity and understanding was received - that meant everything. We were holding up a mirror to the world many of us are experiencing in 2025, using the story of Hamlet, of grief, loss, and insanity. Returning to my theatrical roots in this capacity felt like a homecoming. It was really special.
MI: Many see Hamlet as a meditation on grief and isolation. What speaks most powerfully to today’s listeners?
makebelieve.fm/Tribeca premiere photos; credit: makebelieve.fm
DK: What stands out most is that we are all collectively experiencing disillusionment. We're battling through isolation. So many of us are starved for connection and understanding in this world where, instead of acceptance, there’s a lot of rejection and division.
There’s a real darkness. “There’s something rotten in the state of Denmark” - that feels true for a lot of people today, from multiple perspectives. Hamlet believes the world is one way, and then all of these events transpire before we even meet him onstage. With every scene, he’s grappling with the idea that the world is not what he thought it was. He talks about nature, the cosmos, the nature of men, good and evil - and I think that’s on everyone’s minds right now. What is good? What is bad? Where are our moral compasses? What truths have been revealed to be lies?
There’s a war between truth and lies. Our entire society functions on mutual agreements, and now those are breaking down. Hamlet voices all of that - his wandering, his wondering, his searching. There’s such a gigantic sense of loss, and having to navigate that because you’re still here. Even listening back, I won’t say there’s relief, but there’s a sense that maybe I’m not as alone. And I think that counts for something.
MI: Let’s talk about you for a moment. You’re well known for playing Darren on Chicago Fire; and now you’re leading Hamlet. How do these roles complement or contrast with each other in your evolution as an actor?
DK: It’s really interesting. Back in 2018, I did a production of Hamlet at The Gift Theatre in Jefferson Park. Toward the end of that run, I got the audition to play Darren Ritter on Chicago Fire. So for about two weeks, I was Hamlet and Ritter.
Now, as I transition out of Chicago Fire, my experience with Hamlet is bookending that chapter. Revisiting something I left in my early twenties, with a different perspective and point of view, feels meaningful. It’s a way to mark my own growth as an artist.
Obviously, the roles are vastly different, but they both require stamina and energy. One has fed into the other. I’ve been working different muscles on Fire than in Shakespeare, but the energetic output is similar. I have a better grasp now on how to care for my body, my voice - my instrument. Coming back to Hamlet has been really fulfilling.
MI: It feels like coming home?
DK: Yeah. Hugely so.
MI: How has your identity as a queer man of color influenced how you interpret characters - especially someone like Hamlet?
makebelieve.fm/Tribeca premiere photo; credit: makebelieve.fm
DK: What’s fascinating about queerness or Blackness - or otherness in general - is that it’s usually defined in contrast to one way of being. I’m a Black queer man, cisgender, and all of that is the center of my story.
The process of othering often relegates someone else’s experience to the margins. I’ve always had to enter spaces not necessarily designed for me. But that grants me a unique perspective. It allows me to have my experience and also understand the fears and motives of gatekeepers - or, let’s call it what it is sometimes, bigots—more than they’ll ever understand me.
I’ve always been able to play two roles. Code-switching isn’t just a survival tactic; it’s a superpower. I’m a shapeshifter. I think my characters often are, too. Hamlet, moment to moment, is scheming, anxious, paranoid—but he’s also deeply observant, playing mind games, exploiting weaknesses.
Darren might not scheme, but he leads with empathy. He meets people where they are. That’s something I share with all my characters. And I think my art is as good as it is because of who I am—not in spite of it. People might think I need to overcome something to play a straight character, but that’s not the truth. I am me, and because I am me, I understand these people. That’s always been my reality.
MI: And that’s powerful advice for young artists looking to sharpen their art. As an artist rooted in identity and innovation, what does success look like to you today?
DK: Success right now looks like attunement and self-discovery. You can’t make art or create from nothing. I’m re-engaging with inspiration - seeking it out, becoming a student again, an audience member again.
I want to elevate my art and be in alignment with my core tenets: a more holistic and radical form of representation, not tokenism. Visibility isn’t enough. If you’re still on the sidelines, that’s not representation.
I’m writing, doing music, and I’ve got some projects coming up I’m really excited about. But most importantly, I’m taking care of my artist self. I’ve been very fortunate to work consistently - but that’s a lot of output. Now I’m focused on replenishing my well and feeding my artist.
MI: One final question: If Hamlet were alive today and scrolling Instagram, what would he be posting?
makebelieve.fm/Tribeca premiere photo; credit: makebelieve.fm
DK: Great question. I think he’d be posting meal prep - or maybe a cooking channel. Something that combined poetry and literature with cuisine. There’s an implementation of control in the kitchen. Having been in his head, I think he’d want to assert control over his world, and I find that in the kitchen. So maybe something like, “Try this recipe I found in my grandmother’s cookbook” - combined with poetry.
MI: I love it! Thank you so much Daniel for your time and wisdom! It’s been an absolute pleasure.
Daniel Kyri doesn’t just perform Hamlet—he reframes him. Through his voice and vulnerability, he brings centuries-old text into urgent conversation with today’s world. Hamlet becomes more than a tragedy. It becomes a mirror—and in Kyri’s hands, a revelation.
Listen to Hamlet now on all major podcast platforms or visit Hamlet.fm.
About Hamlet
Make-Believe Association, the Chicago company behind the award-winning audio drama Lake Song, is proud to announce HAMLET, a new 6-episode audio adaptation of the classic play by William Shakespeare. Adapted and directed by Jeremy McCarter with binaural sound design by Tony Award-winning Mikhail Fiksel, HAMLET will be released on Tuesday, June 10 and will be available to listen for free on all major podcast streaming platforms. HAMLET stars Chicago native Daniel Kyri, a breakout star of NBC’s “Chicago Fire,” and is executive produced by Emilia LaPenta and Jeremy McCarter (Hamilton: The Revolution, Viewfinder: A Memoir of Seeing and Being Seen).
HAMLET stars Daniel Kyri in the title role. The cast also features Ayanna Bria Bakari (Ophelia), Terry Bell (Guildenstern/Voltimand), Ronald L. Conner (Gravedigger), Eduardo Curley-Carrillo (Ensemble), Daveed Diggs (Prologue), Lorena Diaz (Ensemble), Charles Andrew Gardner (Rosencrantz/Cornelius), Henry Godinez (Priest), Lawrence Grimm (Captain), Erik Hellman (Horatio), Bill Irwin (Osric), Timothy Edward Kane (Laertes), Delia Kropp (Ensemble), Jacob Ming Trent (Polonius), Roslyn Ruff (Player Queen), Lorenzo Rush, Jr. (Marcellus/Lucianus), Anna Deavere Smith (Player King), John Douglas Thompson (Claudius/Ghost), and Sharon Washington (Gertrude).