Michael Chiklis

Michael Charles Chiklis was born on August 30, 1963, in Lowell, Massachusetts, and grew up in Andover, Massachusetts. His father, Charles P. Chiklis, operated a hair and beauty salon, and his mother, Katherine, worked as a hospital administrative aide. His father was a second-generation Greek American whose paternal ancestors came from Lesbos, while his mother was of Greek and Irish descent. From the age of five, Chiklis entertained family members with celebrity imitations, and as a child he participated in regional theater productions, becoming a member of the Actors' Equity Association at thirteen. In the ninth grade he portrayed Hawkeye Pierce in his high school's production of M*A*S*H. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Boston University College of Fine Arts.

Following his graduation from Boston University, Chiklis relocated to Brooklyn, New York, where he was cast as John Belushi in the biopic Wired (1989). Though the film was poorly received at the box office, his performance drew praise. During this period he also made guest appearances on television series including Miami Vice, Wiseguy, L.A. Law, Murphy Brown, and Seinfeld, as well as bit parts in films such as Nixon.

His first sustained television success came with The Commish, a police comedy-drama that aired on ABC from 1991 to 1996, in which he played Commissioner Anthony "Tony" J. Scali, a police commissioner in a small upstate New York city. After The Commish concluded, he starred in the short-lived NBC sitcom Daddio.

In January 1997, Chiklis stepped into the Broadway one-man show Defending the Caveman, replacing its creator and original performer Rob Becker. He held the role through the production's closing in June 1997. The show had originally opened on Broadway in 1995.

After portraying Curly Howard in the television film The Three Stooges in 2000, Chiklis undertook a significant physical transformation, spending six months on an intensive workout regimen and shaving his head. The effort positioned him for the role of LAPD Detective Vic Mackey on the FX drama The Shield, which ran from 2002 to 2008. For that performance he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2002 and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series Drama in 2003. He received additional Golden Globe nominations for the role in 2004 and 2005. He later parodied the character in an episode of Robot Chicken.

A longtime fan of the Fantastic Four comic book series, Chiklis starred as Ben Grimm / The Thing in Fantastic Four (2005) and reprised the role in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007). He also appeared as the United States Secretary of Defense in Eagle Eye (2008).

Since 2000, Chiklis has taken on a number of voice acting roles, including Chihiro's father Akio in the English dub of Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away and Roman/King Webster in The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina. He has also appeared in episodes of Family Guy and contributed a voice role to Heavy Gear: The Animated Series.

Additional television credits include the ABC series No Ordinary Family (2010–11), the CBS crime drama Vegas, a recurring role as Dell Toledo on American Horror Story: Freak Show (2014–15), Captain Nathaniel Barnes on Gotham (2015–17), and Red Auerbach on Winning Time (2022–23). He also appeared in two episodes of Sons of Anarchy in 2014. His film appearances include Hubie Halloween (2020) and Don't Look Up (2021).

Chiklis has pursued music alongside his acting career, playing drums and vocals as his primary instruments while also performing on guitar and bass. He has been a member of several Boston-area bands, including The Surgeon General, Best Kept Secret, and Double Talk. In September 2016 he released a solo album titled INFLUENCE, which he wrote and produced at his own Extravaganza Music Studio. In 2011, his band MCB released the single "Til I Come Home," a tribute to soldiers overseas, which was used in No Ordinary Family. An earlier MCB single, "Make Me High," was written for the independent film High School (2010).

Chiklis married Michelle Moran on June 21, 1992. They have two daughters: Autumn, born October 9, 1993, and Odessa, born March 26, 1999. Autumn appeared on The Shield, playing Vic Mackey's daughter Cassidy. Chiklis has participated in celebrity Texas hold 'em tournaments benefiting comedian Brad Garrett's charity foundation, Maximum Hope, and has worked with organizations including The Children's Lifesaving Foundation. He has also starred in and produced films through his own production company, Extravaganza.