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Michael Chiklis

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"Chiklis" redirects here. For his daughter, see Autumn Chiklis.
Michael Chiklis
Chiklis in 2019
Born
Michael Charles Chiklis

(1963-08-30) August 30, 1963 (age 61)
Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationBoston University (BFA)
Occupation(s)Actor, director, producer
Years active1989–present
Spouse
Michelle Chiklis
​
(m. 1992)​
Children2, including Autumn
Websitemichaelchiklis.com

Michael Charles Chiklis (/ˈtʃɪklɪs/; born August 30, 1963) is an American actor, film television director, film and television producer and musician. He is best known for his role as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Detective Vic Mackey on the FX police drama The Shield (2002–2008), for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2002, and was nominated in 2003. Other starring television roles of his include Commissioner Tony Scali on the ABC police drama The Commish (1991–1996), Chris Woods in Daddio (2000), Jim Powell on the ABC science-fiction comedy-drama No Ordinary Family (2010–2011), Vincent Savino in the CBS crime drama Vegas (2012), Dell Toledo in American Horror Story: Freak Show (2014), and Nathaniel Barnes in Gotham (2015–2017). In film, he is best known for his roles as The Thing in two Fantastic Four films (2005–2007), George Callister in Eagle Eye (2008), Terry Eidson in When the Game Stands Tall (2014), and Father Dave in Hubie Halloween (2020).

Early life

Chiklis was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. His mother, Katherine (née Vousboukis), is a hospital administrative aide, and his father, Charlie Chiklis, runs a hair/beauty salon.[1][2] Chiklis has been described as having inherited his acting ability from his mother.[3] His father is a second-generation Greek American (his paternal ancestors came from Lesbos), and his mother is of Greek and Irish descent.[4] Chiklis grew up in Andover, Massachusetts[5] and began entertaining his family with celebrity imitations when he was 5 years old. As a child, Chiklis appeared in regional theater productions and became a member of the Actors' Equity Association at age 13. In the ninth grade, he portrayed Hawkeye Pierce in Andover High School's production of M*A*S*H.[5] He graduated from Boston University College of Fine Arts[6] with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.[7]

Career

After graduating from college, Chiklis moved to Brooklyn, New York and was cast in the role of John Belushi in the controversial biopic Wired (1989).[8] The film was panned in general and flopped at the box office, though Chiklis's performance as Belushi (one of his idols) was highly praised.[9] He also guest starred in several popular television series such as Miami Vice, B.L. Stryker, Wiseguy, L.A. Law, Murphy Brown, and Seinfeld, as well as in bit parts in such films as Nixon.

Chiklis' first successful role was in The Commish, a police comedy/drama that ran from 1991 to 1996 on ABC. Chiklis played Anthony "Tony" J. Scali, a police commissioner in a small city in upstate New York. After The Commish, Chiklis starred in the short-lived NBC sitcom Daddio.

In 1997, Chiklis replaced Rob Becker in the Broadway one-man show Defending the Caveman, taking on the role from January 1997[10] to the show's closing in June 1997.[11]

After playing Curly Howard in the TV film The Three Stooges (2000), 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.[12] Chiklis won over creator Shawn Ryan and nabbed the leading role of the show's anti-hero, LAPD Detective Vic Mackey. He won the 2002 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series for the role. Chiklis 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. Chiklis later parodied his role as Vic Mackey in the Robot Chicken episode, "Monstourage"; the skit involved Mackey accidentally switching places with Ben Grimm.

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 and Thumbelina. He has also performed in several episodes of Family Guy and had a voice role in Heavy Gear: The Animated Series.

In 2005, he starred in Fantastic Four (2005) as Thing and reprised the role in its sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007). A fan of the comic book series, he had dreamed of playing the character if ever a Fantastic Four film were produced. Chiklis was often praised for his performance in a film that otherwise earned mixed reviews.

In the film Eagle Eye (2008), Chiklis portrays the United States Secretary of Defense.

In the wake of the Bernie Madoff scandal, Chiklis was developing[needs update] 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. Chiklis planned to executive produce but not star.[13]

Chiklis later starred in the ABC television series No Ordinary Family, which premiered on September 28, 2010,[14] as part of the 2010–11 television season[15] and ended in April, 2011.[16] He also co-starred in the CBS Crime drama Vegas.

In March 2014, it was announced that Chiklis had been cast in American Horror Story: Freak Show, season 4 of the FX anthology series.[17]

In 2014, Chiklis played a small part towards the end of the FX series Sons of Anarchy. He appears first in the episode "Rose Red", as a trucker who first encounters Gemma, who is on her way to her father, at a truck stop. He also plays a truck driver in the series finale.

In 2015, he appeared in Gotham as Captain Nathaniel Barnes.[18] In a nod to Chiklis' time on the Strike Team on The Shield, his character established a similarly named "Strike Force".

In September 2016, Chiklis released his first solo album, INFLUENCE. He wrote and produced the album at his own Extravaganza Music Studio.[19]

Personal life

Chiklis married Michelle Epstein on June 21, 1992, and they have two daughters: Autumn, born on October 9, 1993, and Odessa, born on March 26, 1999.[20] Autumn played Vic Mackey's daughter Cassidy on The Shield.[21]

A lifelong comic book fan, Chiklis rarely turns down an autograph request from children.[22]

Chiklis is a fan of both the Boston Red Sox,[23] and the Boston Bruins,[24] was interviewed for the HBO documentary The Curse of the Bambino about the Red Sox's long struggle to win the World Series,[25] and narrated the video introduction of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX.[26]

Chiklis is also an accomplished musician, specializing in drums and vocals, but also playing guitar and bass.[3] He is a member of several performing bands in the Boston area such as The Surgeon General, Best Kept Secret, and Double Talk.[3] He has starred in and produced films through his own production company, Extravaganza.[3][27]

In 2011, Chiklis and his band MCB released their first single "Til I Come Home", a tribute song to the soldiers overseas.[28] The song was used in his TV series No Ordinary Family in 2011.[29] MCB's prior music includes another single, "Make Me High", written for the independent film High School (2010), starring Chiklis, Adrien Brody, Colin Hanks, and Matt Bush; the single was released in spring 2011.[30]

Following his stint on American Horror Story: Freak Show, Chiklis told Larry King that he did not enjoy working on the show: "That was one of the darkest years of my career. It was, I think, it's one thing to do a horror film in the context of like two months or something like that, but to live in that for six months it just became, I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm an empathetic person, and I just sometimes start to take things on. But it was so dark, and it was so nasty."[31]

Philanthropy

Chiklis has participated in celebrity Texas hold 'em tournaments to benefit comedian Brad Garrett's charity foundation, Maximum Hope. Chiklis has worked closely with many different charities over the years including The Children's Lifesaving Foundation,[32] Alzheimer's Association,[33] Autism Speaks[34] and the Revlon Run Walk.[35]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1989 Wired John Belushi
1990 The Rain Killer Reese
1995 Nixon TV Director
1998 Body and Soul 'Tiny' O'Toole
Taxman Andre Rubakov
Soldier Jimmy Pig
1999 Carlo's Wake Marco
St. Michael's Crossing Benjamin Arensen
Last Request Victim Short film
Do Not Disturb Hartman
2001 Spirited Away Chihiro's Father Voice, English dub
2002 The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina King Webster Voice
2005 Fantastic Four Ben Grimm / The Thing
2007 Rise: Blood Hunter Clyde Rawlins
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Ben Grimm / The Thing
2008 Eagle Eye Secretary of Defense George Callister
The Legend of Secret Pass Calabar Voice
2010 High School Dr. Leslie Gordon
2013 Parker Melander
Pawn Derrick
2014 When the Game Stands Tall Terry Eidson
2016 The Do-Over Carmine
Rupture Bald Man
2017 Fallen Narrator Documentary
2018 1985 Dale Lester
MFKZ Crocodile Voice
2019 10 Minutes Gone Frank
2020 Hubie Halloween[36] Father Dave
2021 Don't Look Up Dan Pawketty
TBA The Senior Mike Flynt Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1989 Miami Vice Jeffrey Whitehead Episode: "The Lost Madonna"
B.L. Stryker Unknown Episode: "Blues for Buder"
Wiseguy Carlo Spoletta 4 episodes
1990 Maverick Square Nicky 'Fat Nicky' Television film/pilot
Murphy Brown Tony Rocket Episode: "Brown and Blue"
1990–1991 L.A. Law Jimmy Hoffs 2 episodes
1991 Seinfeld Steve Episode: "The Stranded"
1991–1996 The Commish Police Commissioner Tony Scali 92 episodes
1998 Touched by an Angel Matt Colletti Episode: "Breaking Bread"
2000 Godzilla: The Series Colonel Charles Tarrington Voice, episode: "Where Is Thy Sting?"
Daddio Chris Woods 15 episodes
The Three Stooges Curly Television film
2000–2001 Family Guy Various Characters Voice, 4 episodes
2001 Heavy Gear: The Animated Series Lieutenant Jan Agusta Voice, main role
2002–2008 The Shield Detective Vic Mackey 88 episodes
2003 Stuart Little Scar Voice, episode: "No Job is Too Little"
2008 Robot Chicken Vic Mackey, The Thing, Doc, Detective Voice, episode: "Monstourage"
2010–2011 No Ordinary Family Jim Powell 20 episodes
2012–2013 Vegas Vincent Savino 21 episodes
2014–2015 American Horror Story: Freak Show Dell Toledo 13 episodes
2014 Sons of Anarchy Milo 2 episodes
2015–2017 Gotham Captain Nathaniel Barnes, The Executioner 41 episodes
2015 Axe Cop Voice, episode: "Heads Will Roll"
2016 The Simpsons Boston Americans Quarterback Voice, episode: "The Town"
2018–2019 DuckTales Zeus Voice, 3 episodes
2020 Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons Slade Wilson/Deathstroke Voice, main role[37]
2021 Coyote Ben Clemens 6 episodes[38]
2022 Winning Time Red Auerbach 5 episodes[39]
2023 Accused Scott Harmon Episode: "Scott's Story"

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Fantastic Four Ben Grimm / The Thing Based on the film of the same name
2007 The Shield Vic Mackey Based on the TV series of the same name

Theater

Year Title Role Notes
1997 Defending the Caveman[10] – One-man show

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Nominated work Result
2002 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series The Shield Won
Television Critics Association Awards Individual Achievement in Drama Won
2003 Golden Globe Awards Best Actor – Television Series Drama Won
Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Actor – Television Series Drama Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series Nominated
2004 Golden Globe Awards Best Actor – Television Series Drama Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Actor – Television Series Drama Won
2005 Golden Globe Awards Best Actor – Television Series Drama Nominated
2006 MTV Movie Awards Best On-Screen Team (shared with Jessica Alba, Ioan Gruffudd and Chris Evans) Fantastic Four Nominated

The web series Jake and Amir often made reference to Chiklis in the phrase "going dickless for Michael Chiklis", which involves a person tucking their penis between their legs, ostensibly for Michael Chiklis.[40]

References

  1. ^ "Michael Chiklis Biography (1963–)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
  2. ^ Bickelhaupt, Susan (November 15, 1994). "Mother knows best". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d Karlin, Susan; McMahon, Vincent (November 1999). "Michael Chiklis: Hollywood Survivor". Cigar Aficionado. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  4. ^ "Twitter / MichaelChiklis: I know everyone thinks of me". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2012-10-30.
  5. ^ a b Lucas, Drake (June 28, 2008). "Michael Chiklis gets his day in Andover". The Eagle-Tribune. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  6. ^ "BU alums Michael Chiklis and Gary Fleder on the set of CBS's new series "Vegas"". bu.edu. August 23, 2012. Archived from the original on 27 August 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  7. ^ "School of Theatre Distinguished Awards". bu.edu. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  8. ^ Stone, Stone (May 17, 1995). "Michael Chiklis: The show that could". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  9. ^ "'Wired,' film adaptation of Belushi's life, has two good mimics, one bad plot". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. August 28, 1989. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  10. ^ a b Haun, Harry (January 29, 1997). "'Commish' Becomes 'The Caveman' on B'Way". Playbill. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  11. ^ "'Caveman' is closing". The New York Times. June 13, 1997.
  12. ^ Weinraub, Bernard (April 3, 2002). "Police Show Has Humans, Not Heroes; In FX's Hit 'The Shield,' Means Justify Ends". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  13. ^ Hibberd, James. "It's in the 'Cards' for Michael Chiklis". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 20, 2008.
  14. ^ Ram, Archana (September 28, 2010). "'No Ordinary Family' premieres tonight: Will you be watching?". ew.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2011. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  15. ^ Rice, Lynette (May 12, 2010). "Breaking: ABC picks up 'No Ordinary Family' starring Michael Chikilis". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 13, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  16. ^ Gorman, Bill (May 13, 2011). "Updated: 'V' Cancelled; 'Brothers & Sisters,' 'Mr. Sunshine,' 'Detroit 187,' 'Off The Map,' 'No Ordinary Family' Cancelled Too". tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Archived from the original on May 16, 2011. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  17. ^ "Michael Chiklis joins the cast of American Horror Story: Freak Show". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  18. ^ Highfill, Samantha (October 12, 2015). "Michael Chiklis is ready to get his hands dirty on Gotham". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  19. ^ "Influence".
  20. ^ "Michael Chiklis". IMDb.
  21. ^ "CHIKLIS BANS DAUGHTER FROM WATCHING HER OWN SHOW". contactmusic.com. March 24, 2004. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  22. ^ Calhoun, Bob (2010-04-06). "The secret life of Michael Chiklis, comic book god". Salon. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  23. ^ "'Shield' star moves on to bigger Thing". TimesDaily. July 1, 2005. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  24. ^ Bobbin, Jay (June 9, 2011). "Boston Bruins fan Michael Chiklis watching Stanley Cup Finals 'like a hawk'". zap2it.com. Archived from the original on September 9, 2011. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  25. ^ Jurkowitz, Mark (September 16, 2003). "HBO takes a powerful swing at explaining Sox' sad history". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  26. ^ Wilson, Dave. "Michael Chiklis: No ordinary Boston sports fan". espn.go.com. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  27. ^ Fernandez, Jay A. (December 1, 2011). "Nikki Reed, Sean Faris Join Michael Chiklis' 'Pawn'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  28. ^ "Michael Chiklis to Release Debut Single". The Hollywood Reporter. February 7, 2011. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  29. ^ Rice, Lynette (February 22, 2011). "'No Ordinary Family' scoop: Michael Chiklis sings!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  30. ^ Fee, Gayle; Raposa, Laura; Johnson, Megan (May 29, 2012). "Michael Chiklis' 'high' school buzz".
  31. ^ "Why Michael Chiklis won't return to 'AHS'". Ora TV.
  32. ^ Tate, Laura (June 4, 2008). "Children's Lifesaving Foundation celebrates 15 years". The Malibu Times. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  33. ^ Gans, Andrew (February 16, 2006). "Alexander, Kazan, Devine, Garber, Gets, Luft, Mullally and More Set for Funny Girl Benefit". playbill.com. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  34. ^ "National Philoptochos Children's Medical Fund Luncheon". greeknewsonline.com. November 26, 2007. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  35. ^ "The Entertainment Industry Foundation Revlon Run/Walk For Women Celebrates 14 Years in Los Angeles on May 12". prnewswire.com. April 10, 2007. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  36. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (July 22, 2019). "Adam Sandler Sets Next Netflix Comedy With All-Star Cast Including Kevin James, Julie Bowen, Maya Rudolph & Many More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  37. ^ "Newsarama | GamesRadar+". 18 July 2023.
  38. ^ "Paramount Network greenlights production on Coyote".
  39. ^ Michael Chiklis To Play Red Auerbach In HBO’s 1980s L.A. Lakers Series
  40. ^ CollegeHumor (October 15, 2013). "Jake and Amir: Reddit Part 2, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEd5tKmg6YY. YouTube. Google Inc. Retrieved October, 03, 2019.
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Michael Chiklis
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