17 - The Assistant Director of Chicago PD

Tommy Burke knows what it is like to be on the set of a movie and TV show. After all, he has spent decades on them. Early on, Tommy knew he wanted to be an Assistant Director - the foreman on every set. In the past 40 years, he worked on movies like Mermaid or shows like CSI Miami. His biggest and favorite job was Chicago PD, where he worked since episode one. But Tommy’s life is more than film industry glamour. For years, while working through 14 hour days of shooting, he spent his evenings getting chemotherapy. As if that wasn’t enough - after being remission - Tommy recently got his second earth shattering diagnosis: Parkinson’s.

In this episode, Tommy talks to us about the moments that changed everything, what the film industry really is like, why Chicago PD is different and how he turned his life towards helping others.