Taylor Kinney took up business management at West Virginia University, before pursuing an acting career. His first major role was in the MyNetworkTV evening soap Fashion Show, which he took in 2006. In 2009, he joined the cast of the short-lived NBC medical drama Trauma. The following year, he joined the cast of the CW's The Vampire Diaries as Mason Lockwood. In 2012, he became one of the cast members of the TV series Chicago Fire as the lead character Kelly Severide.