Acting is not an easy job. Especially acting on a highly intense show like Fox’s 9-1-1. But even that doesn’t compare to the actual job of being a first responder. Just ask one of the actors on the show.
Peter William Krause is an actor and producer on the hit Fox show. He plays the character of Robert Wade “Bobby” Nash, the Captain of Station 118 of the Los Angeles Fire Department. He made his debut in the very first episode of the first season of 9-1-1.
If you are a close follower of the show, then you know that Krause’s character has experienced a lot of tragedy in his life. He was once the fire captain in the St. Paul Fire Department, but he relocated himself to Los Angeles after a fire incident caused the death of his wife and his two children. Once he started fresh at Station 188, however, he met two of his closest crew members in Hen and Chimney. He also met Athena at one of the first calls he responded to. And just a few years later, the two began dating and wound up getting married.
Now, combine all of that emotional baggage with the high-pressure moments that being a first responder can bring on. It’s safe to say that as an actor, this would be one of the toughest roles you could ask for. But when the going gets tough, Krause just thinks about all of the actual first responders out.
“Any time we’re experiencing difficulty on set, all of us always remind each other that this isn’t the real deal,” Krause told the Hollywood Reporter in 2019.
‘9-1-1’ is a Tribute to All of the Nation’s First Responders
When show creator Tim Minear was working on the creation of 9-1-1, he didn’t want to make another procedural police show. He wanted something more in-depth, more urgent, and more meaningful. As a result, he came up with what 9-1-1 is today. And evidently, he has gotten that message across to the entire cast that this show isn’t about them, but instead about all of the real first responders out there. Peter Krause has been echoing that sentiment since the show has been on.
“The hours that they have to keep, the number of hours they have to be awake and do what they have to do,” the 56-year-old Krause continued. “It’s a difficult job.”
Sure, his particular acting role on 9-1-1 might rank near the top of difficult acting gigs out there. However, when it’s all said and done, his job isn’t the real thing. But he is a pro and he takes it seriously so that they can accurately shine a light on what first responders really go through.
“Even though this is a difficult acting job, this doesn’t even come close. “They understand that it’s television, but they enjoy all the elements of the show, the fact that their lives — not just their heroic moments, but their lives — are explored, the difficulty that they have with certain things.”
