Michael Chiklis Biography

Michael Chiklis was born on August 30, 1963 in Lowell, Massachusetts and grew up in Andover, Massachusetts. Also known as Chick or Chicky, he is an American actor. Chiklis' family hailed from the Greek island of Lesbos and he is fluent in Greek, Italian and Spanish.

A natural performer, Chiklis began entertaining his family with celebrity imitations when he was just five years old. As a child, Chiklis appeared in regional theater productions and earned his Equity card at age 13. He later attended Boston University School of Performing Arts where he received his BFA.
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On the day of graduation, Chiklis hopped in his car bound for New York City. Upon arriving in the Big Apple, Chiklis later admitted that he "was going to kick this city's ass". But only a few years later and following the route of the struggling actor, Chiklis said he was sitting on the Brooklyn Bridge begging for forgiveness. It was on that same day he got the part of John Belushi in the controversial film Wired. He also guest starred in several popular series such as Miami Vice, L.A. Law, Murphy Brown, Seinfeld, and Family Guy alongside bit parts in films like Nixon. He was the star of a critically-panned NBC sitcom called Daddio which proved to be short-lived.

He is best known for starring in two popular, but highly different, television series: The Commish (1991-1995) and The Shield (2002-). Under his wife's advice, Chiklis decided to change his image which included an extensive workout to buff up his body. In collaboration with his wife, he began writing a rogue cop character which would eventually be part of The Shield which Chiklis is best known for.

Although The Shield has been controversial because of its violent content, Chiklis's acting has been highly praised and he has won several awards for portraying Detective Vic Mackey. The role of "Vic Mackey" also helped Chiklis break out from type-casting, as many television viewers closely identified Chiklis with the stern but lovable father figure character "Tony Scali", who Chiklis played on "The Commish" after the series ended.

He also did the voice of Chihiro's father, Akio, in the English dub of Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away, and portrayed Curly Howard in a made-for-TV movie about the Three Stooges.

In 2005 he starred in Fantastic Four as The Thing. A fan of the comic series, he informed his brother Peter when he was 18 that if there was ever a movie made of the Fantastic Four, he would play Ben Grimm.

MICHAEL CHIKLIS PICTURES

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MICHAEL CHIKLIS BIOGRAPHY