McKinney played Jason Stillwell in the 1986 martial arts film No Retreat, No Surrender.
After that, he gained acting experience in local commercials and films while supporting himself by selling cars for Neil Huffman Dodge.
[3] Early in his career, McKinney had guest starring roles on series such as Gimme a Break!
McKinney left the soap in 2000 and continued to appear in minor roles in relatively obscure independent films, including 2000's Cupid & Kate, 2001's Supertalk, 2002's Bending All the Rules and 2004's Savage Faith.
Shortly before his return to Guiding Light in 2005, reprising the role of Matt Reardon, McKinney commented in an interview that he had been busy doing several independent films in recent years saying "you'll probably never see which is unfortunately where so many of those end up."