Taylor Kinney on Chicago Fire audition: ‘I was excited’

Taylor Kinney has been charming Chicago Fire fans for over a decade. As Kelly Severide, the gruff, unshakeable leader of the 51, he has proven himself to be one of the most iconic characters in the entire One Chicago franchise.

The actor recently sat down for an interview with NBC, where he reflected on the audition process and how he managed to nab the part back in 2012. True to form, Kinney remembers not being the slightest nervous about the audition, but confident that he would get the part.

Is Taylor Kinney still on Chicago Fire?

“I was in the circuit of auditioning a lot, so I was decent at it”, he recalled. “I remember never having any anxiety. I was excited about it, and then you kind of leave it up to the powers that be.” The Fire team obviously liked what they saw in the actor, and he eventually got the part.

While he may not have been nervous, Kinney is very thankful for the opportunity he was given, and reflected on some of the less-than-stellar jobs he had to do before he established himself as an actor.

“[For my first job] I carried golf clubs for older women who didn’t know how to play golf”, Kinney noted. “It was frustrating, but I would make enough money to buy a medium, thin-crust pizza from Pizza Hut and rent a Blockbuster movie for a Saturday night. Thanks, old ladies!”

Kinney’s first paying gig was a Foo Fighters music video, but the actor revealed that most of his scenes got cut from the final version. It wasn’t until he nabbed guest spots in TV shows like Bones and The Vampire Diaries that his career began to really take off.

Moreover, Kinney is thankful that he’s gotten a chance to play a character with as many different facets and chapters in his life as Severide. “[The audition] went well, and 10 years later I’m still here bugging you through your televisions while you fold laundry”, he jokingly added.

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