Michael Chiklis says that by the time he was five years old he already knew that he wanted to be an actor.
He was born on August 30, 1963 in Lowell, MA, and has been acting professionally since he was thirteen. He guest-starred in many hit television programs before he landed the title role of Tony Scalli in ABC's The Commish. Among his movies are Wired,Taxman, and Three Stooges. Chiklis starred in the FX crime series, The Shield, playing rogue cop Detective Vic Mackey. The series won acclaim for its gritty realism,; it ran from 2002 to 2008, and was nominated for Emmys, Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild awards, and many more. Chiklis won 2002's Emmy award and 2003's Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama for the role.
Best Known As: Detective Vic Mackey on TV's The Shield
Actor Michael Chiklis is best known for his portrayal of corrupt police detective Vic Mackey on cable TV's The Shield. Chiklis began performing professionally at the age of 13. A graduate of the Boston University School of Performing Arts, he spent his early career in New York doing off-Broadway plays. His first big break came when he was chosen to play John Belushi in the movie Wired (1989), but Chiklis has had greater success on television. From 1991-96 he was the star of the series The Commish, and in 2002 he won an Emmy for his work on The Shield. His other credits include the one-man Broadway show Defending the Caveman and, as comic book hero The Thing, Fantastic Four (2005) and its sequel 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007).
In the animated version of Spirited Away released for English-language audiences, Chiklis is the voice of Chihiro's father.
Career Highlights: Wired, Eagle Eye, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
First Major Screen Credit: Wired (1989)
Biography
Though known mainly for his role as complicated police officer Vic Mackey on F/X's television cop drama The Shield, Massachusetts native Michael Chiklis has been acting professionally since the age of 13, when he made several appearances at the Town and Country Playhouse in Salem, NH. From there, Chiklis enlisted in a variety of classical, occasionally Shakespearian theatrical productions at the prestigious Merrimack Repertory Theatre and ultimately studied acting in the drama program at Boston University's College of Fine Arts. After graduating, Chiklis traveled to New York and began the auditioning process. In 1988, he was picked to portray John Belushi in the feature film Wired, though litigation and controversy delayed the release and proper promotional process, and the picture itself was a wretched mess (not to mention a depressing affair).
By 1991, after making guest appearances in some of the most popular sitcoms of the time (Murphy Brown, L.A. Law, and Seinfeld, to name a few), Chiklis was cast as amiable police commissioner Tony Scali on ABC's The Commish. Though a few extra pounds at that time helped him land the role after his audition, his subsequent weight loss required him to wear a "fat suit" to remain in character (though the actor was only in his mid-twenties, series producers created the role for someone much older). When The Commish ceased to be after a five-year run, Chiklis took on a small role in Oliver Stone's Nixon (1995) and starred in the ill-fated NBC sitcom Daddio (2000). Two years later, the series premiere of The Shield catapulted Chiklis back into the forefront of network success. His role on the popular series would bring him two Best Actor nominations from the Golden Globes, as well as one from the Screen Actor's Guild.
Chiklis contented himself with this part for several years, but in 2005, he returned to cinematic ventures and went big budget with the FX-laden summer extravaganza Fantastic Four. This film - like the famous Stan Lee comic strip - concerns a group of individuals who journey into outer space to investigate a cosmic storm, and find each of their DNA codes altered in a unique way; one by one, they become The Human Torch, The Thing, The Invisible Girl, and Mr. Fantastic (four superheroes, each of whom has a unique power) -- and must collectively take on the seemingly invincible Doctor Doom (Julian McMahon). Chiklis plays The Thing (nee Ben Grimm), a creature made entirely of stone. Though broadly derided in the press, the public ignored the negative critical responses and helped The Fantastic Four reel in an estimated worldwide gross of around $330 million -- paving the way for a 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. In that outing, the quartet of demigods take on the nefarious titular villain, who has set about destroying the Earth.
In that same year's supernatural thriller Rise: Blood Hunter, Chiklis played Detective Rawlins - an unfortunate man whose daughter was bitten and turned into a blood-sucking vampire. The film saw Rawlins pooling his efforts with those of vampire fighter Sadie Blake (Lucy Liu) to destroy an evil vampiric host ironically named Bishop (James D'Arcy). Following this outing, Chiklis signed for a supporting role in director D.J. Caruso's psychological thriller Eagle Eye (2008). ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
Chiklis was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, the son of Charlie Chiklis, a second-generation Greek American who runs a hair/beauty salon, and Katherine, a hospital administrative aide[1] from whom Chiklis has been described as inheriting his acting ability.[2] Chiklis' paternal ancestors came from Lesbos Island.[3] Chiklis grew up in Andover, Massachusetts and began entertaining his family with celebrity imitations when he was five years old. As a child, Chiklis appeared in regional theater productions and became a member of the Actors' Equity Association at age thirteen. He later attended Boston University College of Fine Arts, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
At age 20, Chiklis shaved his head to look like male-pattern baldness for the part of a 65-year-old man in You Can't Take It With You. Instead of using powder on his head (as he did on his face), he used greasepaint, and he failed to remove it properly at the end of each day. This killed the hair follicles on his head, essentially shaping his career in many ways. Chiklis has said in an NPR interview that this was a very traumatic experience as a young actor, and is the reason he wore a hairpiece in Wired.
Career
After graduation, Chiklis moved to New York City with high ambitions, but he struggled for several years before being cast the role of John Belushi in the controversial biopic Wired in 1989. The film was panned in general and flopped at the box office. He also guest starred in several popular television series such as Miami Vice, L.A. Law, Murphy Brown, and Seinfeld alongside bit parts in films like Nixon.
The Commish was Chiklis's first acclaimed and successful role. In the family-friendly police comedy/drama, Chiklis played Anthony "Tony" J. Scali, a police commissioner in a small city in upstate New York. A stern but lovable father figure, Chiklis's character had an easygoing style, smart wit, and an unorthodox approach to parenthood and police work. After The Commish, Chiklis starred in the short-lived and critically-panned NBC sitcom Daddio.
After playing Curly Howard in a television movie about the Three Stooges, Chiklis decided to reinvent his image. With his wife's help, he spent six months on an extensive workout regimen and shaved his head. He turned up to audition for The Shield looking nothing like the pudgy, friendly character of The Commish. Winning over creator Shawn Ryan, Chiklis nabbed the leading role of the show's tough, edgy, detective Vic Mackey. Although The Shield was controversial because of its violent content, Chiklis's performance was highly praised, with his first major recognition coming when he won the 2002 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series for his role as Detective Vic Mackey. He received a Golden Globe Award that same year for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series-Drama as well. Between 2004 and 2005, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama Series but did not win.
Since 2000, Chiklis has taken up a number of voice roles, voicing Chihiro's father, Akio, in the English dub of Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away and Roman/King Webster in the direct-to-video feature The Adventures of Tom Thumb & Thumbelina. He has also performed in several episodes of Family Guy and had a voice role in Heavy Gear: The Animated Series.
In the wake of Bernard Madoff scandal, Chiklis is developing a series at FX about a similar investment scheme. The project, called House of Cards, concerns a group committing an elaborate scam similar to the Madoff fraud. Chiklis had been developing the project since February 2008 after he and his wife became victims of a Ponzi scheme themselves. "Cards" will likely center on the leader of the scheme, with Chiklis planning to executive produce but not star.[4]
Personal life
Chiklis married Michelle Morán on 21 June1992 and they have two daughters, Autumn, born on October 9, 1993, and Odessa, born in 1999.[5] Autumn played Vic Mackey's daughter Cassidy on The Shield.
He attended the same high school as his good friend Jay Leno.
A lifelong comic book fan, he rarely (if ever) turns down an autograph request from children. In fact, according to the DVD commentary for the Fantastic Four film, his voice has been going hoarse from doing so many requests as Thing; in Chiklis's own words
He is also an accomplished musician, specializing in drums and vocals but also playing guitar and bass. A member of several performing bands in the Boston area such as The Surgeon General, Best Kept Secret and Double Talk. 2009 Rumors are of a recording project in the works.
