One Of Chicago Fire's Longest-Tenured Stars Is A Real Firefighter Who Was Hired As An Extra

An actor with more than 250 "Chicago Fire" appearances didn't have to do any preparation for his role. In real life and on screen, Anthony Ferraris has saved lives as a member of the Chicago Fire Department and was originally brought on as an extra in Season 1 before becoming the fan-favorite character Tony. 

Ferraris, a now-retired firefighter, was the only "Chicago Fire" cast member who could drive a fire engine at the time. His character initially had a small part, though showrunner Derek Haas upgraded Tony to a speaking role later in Season 1 despite Ferraris' lack of acting experience. "I was never an actor," Ferraris told Wolf Entertainment. "I had never even wanted to act, so the big thing for me was just trying to get comfortable around a bunch of people. I didn't know what to do, but everybody just told me to do what I normally do on the incidents."

Frequently responding to emergencies with the rest of the squad in all 15 released seasons of the NBC series, Ferraris has the seventh-most "Chicago Fire" credits of any performer on the show, only ranking behind stars Taylor Kinney, Christian Stolte, Joe Minoso, David Eigenberg, Randy Flagler, and Eamonn Walker. Fans of Dick Wolf's One Chicago universe might also recall seeing Ferraris' Tony in a few episodes of the spin-off shows "Chicago P.D." and "Chicago Med" over the last 12 years. 

Anthony Ferraris' One Chicago appearances as Tony are the only acting endeavors in his career thus far — an experience that he has enjoyed. While speaking with Wolf Entertainment, Ferraris discussed whether the day-to-day lives depicted on the firefighter show are accurate to his real-world experience on the job.

He specifically praised the show's illustration of how its firefighters behave amid a dangerous blaze versus in their downtime together. "We have a very dangerous job, and we're very tight when that bell rings," Ferraris said. "But when we're at the firehouse, we're busting on each other and giving each other a hard time. We golf together; we do a lot of things together. I think it translates onto the screen, and it's pretty realistic of life at work. When you live with somebody for 24 hours, you'll learn a lot about them, and you do that for 88 days a year. It's your second family."

Having portrayed Tony on "Chicago Fire" for over 14 years now, Ferraris is a seasoned veteran of the series' cast. Even so, his on-screen tenure isn't quite as long as the 25 years he spent with the Chicago Fire Department in real life.