Former Owego resident to appear on popular television series

Former Owego resident, Brent Potter, will appear on an upcoming episode of one of the most popular action-drama series on television, Chicago Fire, a weekly series airing Tuesday’s at 10 p.m. on NBC. The series evolves around the personal and professional lives of firefighters and paramedics of the Chicago Fire Department.  

On the scheduled Nov. 22 episode of Chicago Fire, Potter plays a lead walk-on character in a scene with actors Yuri Sardarovi and Miranda Raymund, who portray regularly featured characters in the series.

A 1996 graduate of Owego Free Academy (OFA) who now lives in the Rockford, Illinois area, it was Potter’s fiance’ who encouraged him to submit his photo and biography in answer to an ad calling for acting extras. At first Potter was indecisive, but opted to send in his credentials, and within a week received a response.  

Potter explained that the show typically seeks out local talent and shared, “There were about forty people at the casting session.”  

Originally cast to be part of a scene where he would be covered in mud and performing physical action, the directors selected Potter for a lead walk-on spot as well.     

Chicago Fire, which films in downtown Chicago, is about a 45-minute drive for Potter. In addition to filming at a real Chicago firehouse, Potter explained that many scenes are filmed inside big warehouses, even those scenes that give the appearance of being outside. 

For the day of shooting, Potter said he was given directions to a parking lot where he met a driver who then took him to an undisclosed location, and then had another transfer to the set. Potter participated in seven hours of filming for his part, which when edited, will most likely only run for about one minute. 

“It’s remarkable how much time is involved,” he said. Potter explained that for the standard 48-minute show, it takes nine days of shooting, with each day encompassing 17 to 18 hours of work.     

Recently, Potter signed a contract with a casting company to do future shows, which may include Chicago PD and Chicago Med, among others.

Following graduation from OFA, Potter attended college in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. Currently, he is a regional director of multiple locations for Anytime Fitness, a 24-hour health and fitness club that operates thousands of locations in the U.S. and other countries. Prior to Anytime Fitness, Potter was a runway model for four years, as well as held a top management role with another well-known fitness chain, Gold’s Gym, and worked in the health and nutrition industry with GNC.  

Pleased with his accomplishments to date, Potter’s personal achievement of physical fitness is on the top of that list, which has evolved into participating at various events. To date, Potter has completed nearly 50 events, such as the obstacle course race called Warrior Dash, which challenges participants to climb through mud, jump over fire and crawl under wire, among other unique elements and conditions. 

Potter is hopeful that he will be called again for other television roles, yet is fulfilled with his work at Anytime Fitness. During the Thanksgiving season, Potter and his team are giving back to their community by providing meals to people in need. Giving back is extremely important to Potter, and he and his team are regularly involved with charity efforts. In addition, Potter is thankful for the flexibility that his Anytime Fitness director role gives him, a top priority being time spent with his seven year old son, Landon.