As hard-charging first responders on NBC’s red-hot rating generator
“Chicago Fire,” firefighters Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) and Kelly
Severide (Taylor Kinney) have one thing in common: both characters
on this One Chicago hit take quite a beating in the line of duty. And while the actors portraying this fan-favorite Firehouse 51 duo don’t suffer as much abuse as appears to be dealt out to their alter-egos on screen, they nonetheless do sometimes end up in physically trying situations.
As a show that prides itself on presenting a realistic look at the daily challenges facing a major city’s firefighting pros, fans expect to see its characters plunged into one horrific, potentially life-ending crisis after another. From getting up close and toasty with the genuine fires used in many episodes to performing while encumbered with 60-pounds of bulky gear to wedging themselves into pseudo-collapsed buildings and car wrecks, Mayo, Kinney, and the rest of the cast all live athletically active existences on the show, even if not always technically death-defying. This said, there was one literally chilling stunt sequence they shot on “Chicago Fire” that had Mayo tipping her hat to Kinney.
Mayo applauded Kinney’s cold tolerance during their river rescue scene
According to “Chicago Fire” actress Miranda Rae Mayo, Taylor Kinney earns top marks for his stoicism during a particularly taxing stunt on the show’s premiere Season 6 episode, “The F is For.” In the previous season’s finale, Kinney’s Severide and former firefighter Matt Casey (Jesse Spencer) escape an explosion by leaping into the wintery Chicago River. Casey makes it to shore as the action resumes in the Season 7 opener, but Severide is seen drifting, face up, unconscious. Dispatched to save the water-logged lieutenant: Severide’s future wife, Stella Kidd, is lowered down into the river to winch him to safety. The rescue scene came up during a One Chicago Day event roundtable with Mayo and “Chicago Fire” co-stars Kara Killmer and Hanako Greensmith.
Asked about stunt work on the show, Mayo replied, “I’ve done my own stunts. When Kidd rescues Severide from the Chicago River.” The actress then appeared to be feeling Kinney’s frostbite, shaking her head, grimacing, and adding: “Which, like, blessings. Taylor was in the Chicago River in February. Like … oof.” When the same question was posed to Killmer and Greensmith, however, the two women seemed less inclined than Mayo to be dunked into icy water during a Midwestern cold snap. Their mutual response: “We LOVE our stunt people.”
