Patrick Flueger

Patrick Flueger made an impressive splash with a comic turn written especially for him in "The Princess Diaries" (2001), which led to regular appearances in features and, eventually, series regular work on"Chicago P.D." (NBC, 2014-). Born Patrick John Flueger in Red Wing, Minnesota, his interest in acting at an early age spurred a relative to introduce him to an acquaintance who worked as a casting director in Minneapolis. This led to an audition for the male romantic lead in Garry Marshall's "The Princess Diaries." Although the role went to Robert Schwartzman, Marshall was impressed by Flueger's performance and wrote a small role for him to play in the film. The exposure afforded by the popularity of "The Princess Diaries" led to steady work in guest roles on television series, including "CSI: Miami" (CBS, 2002-2012), and a three-year stint as a young man with dangerous paranormal powers on the cult science fiction series "The 4400" (USA Network, 2004-07). Flueger worked steadily in the wake of that show's cancellation, alternating between character turns in features ranging from "Brothers" (2009), with Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal, and "Footloose" (2011), to guest appearances on "Criminal Minds" (CBS, 2005-) and "Warehouse 13" (SyFy, 2009-2014). In 2014, he made his first appearance as the gung-ho police cadet Adam Ruzek on "Chicago Fire" (NBC, 2012-); the character was later introduced as a series regular on the spin-off drama, "Chicago P.D.," where Ruzek was made an undercover police officer.