Taylor Kinney has become a household name thanks to his stint as Lieutenant Kelly Severide on the NBC drama Chicago Fire.
However, before his career-making role came knocking, his journey to the world of acting was slow and steady.
VIDEO: Taylor Kinney looked so different at the start of his career
The Pennsylvania-born star, in fact, wasn't even destined to become an actor till much later in life, having developed the passion for it at an older age.
He was raised by a single mother, a dental hygienist, alongside his three siblings, and attended West Virginia University, where he studied Business Management.
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Unlike many of his contemporaries, Taylor's interest in the art didn't come about till later in life, after having already decided to go down a more traditional route.
However, it was his decision to take a theater elective during his sophomore year in university that shaped the rest of his life, telling USA Today that it "held my interest outside of the classroom more so than any other subject I'd ever taken."
© Photo: Getty ImagesTaylor only developed an interest in acting during his sophomore year of college
Taylor left college after his junior year to move to Hawaii, where he wanted a "life experience of my own," learning to surf, skydive, and frame houses.
Only after a year in Hawaii did he decide to take acting more seriously and move to Los Angeles to begin auditioning, landing his first major role in 2006 in the soap opera Fashion House.
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After a series of other starring roles in shows like Trauma and The Vampire Diaries, he starred in Lady Gaga's 2011 music video for You and I, sparking a relationship with the singer which resulted in a 2015 engagement which was called off the following year.
© Photo: Getty ImagesHe first appeared on Chicago Fire in 2012
Soon after in 2012, Taylor landed the role of Kelly Severide in the first of the One Chicago franchise's installments, Chicago Fire, having appeared in every season since.
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