Taylor Kinney says he’d be a [SPOILER] if he wasn’t an actor

Taylor Kinney’s future on Chicago Fire is unclear. The actor took a leave of absence during season 11, but he hasn’t made it clear when he plans to return, or whether he plans to return to the show at all. This uncertainty has been compounded by the fact that Chicago Fire has been delayed due to the writers and actors strike.

Kinney has been quieter than usual, both in terms of social media and the lack of interviews he’s given. That being said, an interview from 2013 sheds some light on his feelings towards the show, and how much he respects the firefighting profession.

Did Taylor Kinney work as a firefighter?

Kinney, who is known for doing as many of his own stunts as possible, talked about the difficulty of getting in the proper shape to emulate real life firefighters during a chat with Assignment X. He noted that the endurance of being a firefighter was similar to being a boxer, and revealed that if he wasn’t an actor, he’d very much want to fight fires for a living.

"“I liken it to when I was in college, I boxed for awhile,” Kinney noted. “I started out doing three-minute rounds and by the end of that third round, you could barely put your hands up. It’s the same thing with a firefighter. I’d look at it and say, ‘I really want to do that. And I could do that.'”"

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The actor went on to say that the difficulty of training to play a firefighter on TV raised his respect for the job, and he’s carried this respect through eleven seasons. “[During] the first onslaught of an experience training, you realize how difficult it is and how much training they have,” he added. “So having a firsthand experience even on a minimal scale just raises your level of respect for the job and the career.”

While it’s safe to assume that Kinney’s success as an actor will stop him from joining a firehouse, we do hope that we will get to see him back in action as Severide when Chicago Fire returns for season 12.

For the latest Chicago Fire spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago Fire category at One Chicago Center.