Alberto Rosende stars as firefighter Blake Gallo on Chicago Fire.

We had a chance to catch up with him right before the premiere of Chicago Fire's ninth season on Wednesday, Nov. 11. 

Read on to find out what Alberto had to say about what's ahead for Gallo this season, a potential new love interest, and what a COVID world looks like.

So let’s dive right in. What’s up ahead for Gallo this season?

We left him after his breakup with Violet, and I think in this next season, we're gonna see him learn to maybe be a little more confident with himself, maybe stand up for himself a little more, or at least maybe find a more stable place to hold his own ground.

Are things definitely over with Violet, or is Gallo ready to move on?

We know that. I think I can say that things are pretty done with Violet. You can't really ask someone to unmarry you. So yeah, I think that's pretty done. I think Gallo is trudging forward, trying to be the best he can have 51 and learning what he can.

There is also a new paramedic at 51, who is also like young and energetic and passionate about the job, and I think that's something that Gallo recognizes.

Does he have a lot of scenes with Mackey?

Um, a few. You know, they work in the same firehouse, and Firehouse 51 is a family. So yeah.

Now that Daniel Kyri is a series regular, are we going to get to see more scenes with Gallo and Ritter this season?

I certainly hope so. I know him and I love working together. We love talking to the writers about what, what's ahead for us and how we kind of influence each other.

It's funny because when Daniel and I talk, we really feel that our characters are kind of an odd couple, that we're both pretty different, and that's what makes us really good friends.

What's on the horizon for Gallo professionally?

He's really just going to keep trying to learn from both of the two mentors. He has Casey, being the one that's he's closer to, that he's had more time with on Truck, and then he'll definitely still be able to see Squad because they're in the same house.

I haven't spoken to the writer about this, but I do feel that, that's a skill set that Gallo has. So anything that those guys do, he's definitely gonna have eyes open and ears up.

Do you see foresee him joining Squad 3 at some point then?

I don't know. I know that what we've seen statistically is guys that have the skill set, and thing that you can't really train that, that ability to turn off that fear, those guys tend to do really well at Squad. I think Gallo does have that skill set.

So going back to Casey, are we going to see them butt heads at all this season? Gallo, who does have the best intentions, sometimes acts without thinking.

I know, learning is a process. So while I think Gallo is gonna have learned a bit, I don't think he's gonna be perfect.

I think that that desire to help, and that ability to be selfless, will definitely continue to put Gallo in positions that are riskier. How much he learns to manage that risk, we'll see.

What do you want to see happen for Gallo this season?

I'm kind of excited to see Gallo grow as a firefighter, to make better decisions, but also in doing so to not have the fear of still pushing that envelope of what can be done to save someone. So I'm excited to see where he kind of settles in those two kind of contradicting pillars.

You know, you have to understand protocol and follow orders and this but also like our main goal is to save people's lives. Actually, heard a cool quote on set. It was, “Risk a little, save a little. Risk a lot, save a lot.” That's what firefighters say they think about when they're going into situations, like what's the risk?

Well, the risk is a family of four in this, you know, rolling fire, we have to get in there.

That's the risk because the reward is making sure that those people can go home and it can, you know, make it another day. So it's cool to think about where Gallo going to be in that. How is he going to continue to learn and move forward?

And then how is he also going to keep that, that fire inside of him alive, and where are we going to see those things buttheads?

Are there any cool stunts you want to see Gallo be part of this season?

I try to be very open with the writers that I am up to try and do anything they think Gallo is capable of.

So in terms of that, if they want to try to push the envelope, if they're saying, ‘Hey, do you think Gallo could do this? Or what type situation?’ I'm an open book in that sense. I'm really excited.

My stunt double’s super talented, to I there’s a lot of opportunity for that.

In the past, we’ve seen characters stuck in this solo ‘life or death’ situation. Is that a possibility this season?

Well, I mean, yeah, I would assume so because not everything can be great. We know that what they do is dangerous. And when we know what they do, it's high stakes. Always.

When it comes to people's lives, it's high stakes. And because of that, emotions can run high. So yeah, I absolutely can see that as a possibility.

Have there been any scenes so far that have surprised you?

Surprised me? I guess, not really. I can say I've had a few cool scenes with Joe [Minoso, who plays Cruz]. I didn't really work with him that much last year, specifically. So to have a few more scenes with him has been really cool.

Any idea if there are any major crossovers in the works?

It wouldn't be a OneChicago world without a crossover, at least, right? As far as how many, what they’re going to look like, I don't get told that; I'm still technically the new guy. But, I don't think it would be our world without at least that at least one. And like, we know, these worlds are all connected.

So the opportunities to see a couple guys from Med or PD are going to be all over the place.

Anything you say about the first episode?

I don't want to cop out, but part of me wants to be like, I can tell you it's going to be hot. I think, unfortunately, I'm sorry. I'm going to go with that.

You’ve shot about two episodes up to this point. How has shooting been different this year?

Aside from, you know, the environment that we're all kind of experiencing right now globally, with COVID. I think that is really creating a different feeling.

We recognize, I think even more so, how privileged we are to be working on a show like this with a group of people like ours, that are all talented and hardworking and passionate.

But then it also speaks to the family nature of OneChicago, the fact that everyone understands what we're doing is a difficult task with a lot of risk.

All of the actors and crew are doing what we can to minimize that risk as much as possible. We're getting tested every day. We're all making decisions that we know affect the entire OneChicago world.

We’ee not making, and that's really cool to see, to see an entire group as big as OneChicago take their best foot forward. We have NBC doing … I mean, I'm extremely impressed with all of the protocol that they've been able to put in place to minimize risk. And because of that, we've gotten through two episodes so far.

So you know, it's been really inspiring, and I do feel really lucky to be a part of this group.

So what does a COVID world look like on Chicago Fire?

Well, I mean, you do see some protocol that we're seeing everywhere. So we're definitely going to see that in play in certainly. But it's not taken over. You know, we're still talking about a group of people that all come together as a family to serve their community.

And yes, that risk in the community is higher because of something else, but the goal is always to do what we can to the community.

Anything else you want to add?

I know this might not be the right thing to add, but I do want to add that, it's been really cool to see the amount of work from the top to make the shows happen for everyone. Because we know that OneChicago's important to all of Chicago.

I have to give our executive producer so many props because that dude has worked so hard to make sure that we all been able to come together and make this magic. So that's the thing, like we're all working hard to show you that OneChicago hasn't stopped, and it won’t.

Be sure to catch Alberto in Chicago Fire, with its ninth season premiering on NBC on Wednesday, Nov. 11.

Jessica Lerner was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in October 2021.