Kerr McKinlay was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland. From a very young age he was involved in the arts. Between the ages of nine and eleven he played Gavroche in several productions of Les Miserables in Ayrshire. Kerr continued amateur dramatics as a teen and performed in many productions, alongside his high school studies. During this time, he also played high level football, as a goalkeeper and captain. When given the opportunity to study musical theatre in college, he leapt at the chance, attending Glasgow Kelvin College and Emil Dale Academy. In 2019, he was given his first chance to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, playing St Jimmy in American Idiot, a dream role for him.

When the pandemic struck in 2020, Kerr transitioned to studying acting. He then transferred to New College Lanarkshire in Motherwell, Scotland, where he earned his first acting qualifications. Following this, he applied to the Atlantic Acting School in New York, where he completed his training. Over the pandemic, he also trained to become a pro-wrestler, something he had always been passionate about. It combined his love of acting and physical activity. Over the next few years, Kerr would learn from some of the best in the industry and perform for some of the best independent promotions in the world. In this time, he became a tag team champion, which he holds to this day, and has started teaching beginners fundamentals classes.

During his studies in New York, Kerr returned twice to the Edinburgh Fringe to perform in Shrek as the title role, St Jimmy in American Idiot again, and Ally in the Proclaimers musical, Sunshine on Leith. The culmination of his training was performing in Atlantic Theatre Company’s offBroadway space, Stage 2, in two separate plays: Black Snow and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot..