“I’ll stay on the damn train” — Taylor Kinney looks back on a decade in the firehouse and tells Miranda Rae Mayo what keeps him going.
ONE MORE ROUND
MIRANDA RAE MAYO: IF YOU COULD POP IN LIKE A GENIE ON YOUR FIRST DAY OF SET OF CHICAGO FIRE, APPEAR TO YOURSELF, AND YOU HAD ONE MINUTE TO TELL THAT VERSION OF YOURSELF ANYTHING TO PREPARE FOR WHAT’S TO COME, OR TO ENCOURAGE HIM. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?
TAYLOR KINNEY: I THINK I’D SAY, “HOLD ON, JUST WAIT HERE. I’VE GOT SOMETHING FOR YOU.” AND I’D WAIT FOR ABOUT 58 SECONDS BEHIND A CORNER, I’D HAVE THE ME FROM THE PAST JUST WAITING, AND I WOULD JUST PUT OUT A HAND AND GIVE A THUMBS-UP.
JACKET: VALSTAR | SHIRT: MCQUEEN | TIE: OUR LEGACY | PANTS & SHOES: DOLCE & GABBANA
COAT & SHIRT: MOSCHINO
“You have always just been really gracious. And you always lead with kindness. I know that we all are so happy that you are our lead, that you are our Severide.” —Miranda Rae Mayo
LOOK: KENZO
CHICAGO, October 16, 2026
TAYLOR KINNEY: Hey, rad. I didn’t think you were gonna figure out your computer machine. [Laughs]
MIRANDA RAE MAYO: It wasn’t a Blackberry, so I was fine. Where are you right now?
TK: I played with Tony [Ferraris]. We’re with him every day, and he’s probably one of my best friends in the world. We went golfing this morning, and I found a nice little parking lot somewhere. [Editor’s note: Kinney is speaking from his car]
MRM: Just outside the city.
TK: Yeah, in the suburbs.
MRM: How was your golf game today?
TK: It was windy. We played alright, and I think I got Tony by a few.
MRM: You guys normally play for something.
TK: We usually play for Snickers or a Big Mac. [Laughs]
MRM: How would you compare your approach to golf to your approach to your work?
TK: That’s a good question, I enjoy them both. I guess acting is more subjective than golf, because golf is just the number on the scorecard at the end of the day. But there are parallels — you can put a ton of work into it, and you can practice hours and hours, but you don’t really see the fruits of your labor immediately.
MRM: What does an eagle or a hole-in-one feel like for you, in your body, after a scene?
TK: I don’t know if that’s comparable, but last year I got a hole-in-one, and I was really quiet. I didn’t run and jump in the pond. I was more like, “That’s pretty wild!” [Laughs] You and I have been working together for however many years — I think if I’m really excited, I’m probably really quiet.
MRM: That’s true, but you get really smiley. For so many reasons, it’s been fun getting to work with you for the past 10 years. There’s a certain level of intuition that goes into that, but that’s what’s so fun about working with you. You are like, “Let’s jump in, let’s see what happens.”
TK: I think it became what it is, and how everybody works. We’ve been doing it for almost a decade — or more.
MRM: More.
TK: And that’s a lot of time to spend with anyone. When you go in, if you do a film or a guest [role] on somebody else’s set, you have all this noise, you have your questions, you’re going over material and you have stuff that you wanna do, or you’re married to a way of doing it. And I don’t like to approach our work or acting like that. Yes, you have the script, and you say the words — as Dick [Wolf] always says. But I like to be able to try, create, and make things on the day. And I feel like I come up with better shots when I’m in the weeds. [Laughs] I think that’s what the job is. And then you find people that do that dance with you, and hopefully put out some good work.
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“I’m really proud of everybody. We’ve found a really good niche, a good group of people that really enjoy and love what they do. And they’re kind to people. So as long as that’s the case, I want to keep going. That’s where my head and my heart are.”
TRENCH: SAINT LAURENT | SUIT & SWEATER: ETRO
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SUIT & SWEATER: ETRO | SHOES: GIORGIO ARMANI
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