“ was strong in the way that he continued to stay sincere and wear his heart on his sleeve, even though he’d been through stuff repeatedly and the world put him in these situations that were out of his control,” he says. “I just showed up and made sure each script was 100 percent prepared with my coach, and they’ve been writing incredible stuff for me.”Īfter six seasons of fighting vampires, witches and werewolves - oh my! - McQueen was particularly excited to dive into more grounded territory. “I talked to the writers, and they talked about possible storylines and this and that, but I wasn’t 100 percent sure,” he says. He also visited a firefighters’ academy and talked with the real men behind the uniform to prepare. Who wouldn’t want to play an American hero?”Īlthough McQueen admits he “didn’t know much about firefighters” beforehand, he had the physical aspect of the demanding role down, thanks to an extensive training routine that includes martial arts, Jiu- Jitsu and kickboxing.

and started reading a lot, and Chicago Fire came up, and I just lit up. “For me, when I’m at work, that’s when I’m at my happiest,” he said. The same is true of McQueen, who wasted little time after his last episode of Vampire Diaries aired looking for his next gig.

Steven r mcqueen chicago fire