Because the #OneChicago franchise takes place in the Windy City, it’s quite fitting that the shows can be turbulent for the real-life actors who appear in them.
Sometimes, series regulars exit fairly organically, and the actors have ample time to address the situation before it unfolds in the show, like when Kiana Cook’s actor, Toya Turner, announced she’s not returning for “Chicago P.D.” Season 13. Other times, an actor’s departure serves a clear storyline, such as when Steven R. McQueen’s Jimmy Borrelli left “Chicago Fire” to conclude the character’s feud with Chief Wallace Boden (Eamonn Walker).
Since the franchise focuses on first responders, it can also use far more dramatic methods to retire characters, like when Yuriy Sardarov’s Brian “Otis” Zvonecek exited “Chicago Fire.” A longtime regular and a well-liked presence at Firehouse 51, Otis died in “Chicago Fire” Season 8, Episode 1 (titled “Sacred Ground”) when the mattress factory fire cliffhanger of the Season 7 finale led to devastating consequences.
Fortunately, this didn’t mark the end of the actor’s professional life. Not only has Sardarov acted in a number of projects, but he’s also found plenty of other interesting avenues to channel his creativity.
“I’m currently writing,” Sardarov said in an April 2025 interview with TV Insider. “I’m hoping to direct a feature, hopefully in the next year, maybe two. I’m also teaching. I started teaching acting. It’s something that has been so invigorating to teach people some of the stuff I was so fortunate to learn. That has really helped me fall in love with the craft again after COVID, the fires, the strikes, so much has happened in Los Angeles to keep us from doing what we love. To be able to feel that again, has been really inspiring.”
Yuriy Sardarov’s acting roles after Chicago Fire
Though Yuriy Sardarov has focused on acting in the last couple of decades, it’s not a massive shock to hear him talk about writing, teaching, and even directing. After all, acting has always been just one part of Sardarov’s entertainment industry tool kit: Between 2010 and 2013, he produced two short films (“Lift Gate” and “Agoraphobia at 2530 Brian Dr.”) and had an executive producer credit on the Kickstarter sci-fi horror drama pilot “Apex.” He also starred in all three projects.
Still, while Sardarov may be looking to expand his horizons, the end of his 161-episode tenure as a key player on “Chicago Fire” no doubt left viewers curious about his other activities in front of the camera. Fortunately, Otis fans have not been left wanting: The Michael Uppendahl-directed biopic “Adam,” in which Sardarov plays Nick Kahn, was released in 2020. The movie also features names like Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad”), Lena Olin (“The Unbearable Lightness of Being”), Tom Berenger (“Platoon”), and Paul Walter Hauser (“Black Bird”). In 2021, Sardarov appeared in April Moreau’s comedy “Amy and Peter Are Getting Divorced.” In 2023, he starred in Neal Kelley and Jono Sherman’s dystopian comedy “Daddy.”
Sardarov has yet to take another TV role as robust and long-running as Otis on “Chicago Fire,” but fans have still been able to spot him in some interesting small-screen projects. In 2022, the actor appeared in two episodes of the ABC police procedural “The Rookie” as a character who’s as different from the affable Otis as possible: A tormented and ruthless CIA operative-turned-terrorist named Ilya Sokurov. In 2023, he also guest-starred as Sergei Diatchenko in an “FBI: International” Season 2 episode titled “Blood Feud.”