After first gaining notice as a model, Kinney took a running leap into his acting career, starting not with bit parts in an episode of "ER" or "Law & Order," but rather as a main character on the MyNetworkTV nighttime soap opera "Fashion House."
Kinney played Luke Gianni, son of Maria Gianni (Bo Derek), the conniving owner of the House of Gianni fashion design firm. Luke is an artist who becomes involved with a new designer at his mother's firm, Michelle Miller (Natalie Martinez). When it becomes clear that his mother doesn't approve of the relationship, he has to choose between his loyalty to his mother and to his new paramour. Twists ensue: Michelle is targeted by the mob; Luke's mother nearly marries his half brother; murder, mayhem, you get the idea.
Kinney's acting start happened so fast it even caught his mother off-guard, as he explained in an interview hosted by Deepest Dream. The show's soap format also led to some unique challenges, as the crew tried to shoot a huge volume of episodes in only a few months. "You'd shoot episode 22, 36, 40, 42, and so you're rifling through thousands of pages [of scripts] and you'd shoot it all," he said. With that kind of schedule, it's amazing Kinney had time to find new work, but find it he did.
