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May 31, 2007

Michael Chiklis enjoying roles in summer blockbuster, hit TV series

Rosemary Ford

Andover native Michael Chiklis got his big break at 27, playing a frumpy, 40-something police commissioner on "The Commish." If someone told Chiklis that he'd be playing a superhero at 43, he wouldn't have believed it.

"I have broken conventions and molds," said the Golden Globe- and Emmy-winning actor.

"I get to play a superhero in a movie my daughters get to see," said Chiklis, of his girls, Autumn, 13, and Odessa, 8. "I see (The Thing) as another character in my body of work. The mix is nice."

Chiklis recently returned from Australia, where 5,000 screaming fans greeted him at the studios of a TV morning show. It was one of his stops Down Under while plugging the blockbuster he's starring in this summer: "The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," opening worldwide Friday, June 15.

"It was extraordinary," said Chiklis, who reprises his role as Ben Grimm, better known as the superhumanly strong The Thing, from 2005's "Fantastic Four." That movie grossed about $500 million worldwide. "It's like being at a rock and roll concert, seas of people screaming."

The rock-star treatment isn't likely to end soon. Chiklis' other summer movie, "Rise: Blood Hunter" opens in limited release next Friday before being released more widely later this summer. His Emmy-winning TV show "The Shield" wraps up its sixth season Tuesday, June 5.

Chiklis got his start as a professional actor locally. When he was 13, he earned his Actors Equity card from the Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell. He graduated in 1981 from Andover High, where he was the football captain and an active participant in theater productions.

Although Chiklis isn't as much of a household name as say, his "Fantastic Four" co-star Jessica Alba, (whom he calls a "class act" and "very talented") his star is rising. Not that anyone would call him an overnight sensation.

After "The Commish" and a short-lived sitcom called "Daddio," Chiklis started his career makeover. Two years later, he began his critically acclaimed portrayal of Vic Mackey | a lean-and-mean cop who often breaks the law to serve his own purposes | in "The Shield" on cable TV network FX.

"That has been my love, 'The Shield,'" said Chiklis, who has directed and produced some episodes. "It has been, by far, the greatest experience of my life | as an actor, as a family man and as a person. The material is incredible. The cast and crew are wonderful. And I get to shoot at home and sleep in my own bed."

The show also comes with its perks: like being able to ban anyone from wearing a Yankee cap on the set | unless Chiklis wants to put a "hurting" on a perp wearing the symbol of his beloved Boston Red Sox's nemesis. He loves the show's cast and crew, who often attend each others' kids' school plays and soccer games.

Through his work on "The Shield," other opportunities opened for Chiklis, including the chance to portray The Thing in the "Fantastic Four" movies. He is tentatively on board for a third installment of the film series.

For the first movie, Chiklis had to don a 60-pound latex costume for 12 hours a day. For the "Silver Surfer" sequel, the suit was revamped to a light foam that Chiklis could remove in less than 10 minutes.

"That is so much better," he said.

Being more comfortable on set allowed Chiklis to log time behind the camera when he wasn't in front of it. He called the experience his "film school." On this movie, there was a lot to learn, especially with the incorporation of special effects, courtesy of the same team that worked on director Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" movies.

"I found myself like a kid, going 'Wow,'" he said. "It's a very exciting time to be in movies."

"'The 'Fantastic Four' was great because the people involved with it are great," Chiklis said. "So many more eyeballs will see that movie."

Between "The Shield" and "Silver Surfer," Chiklis spent three weeks making the film, "Rise: Blood Hunter," in which he plays a police detective hunting the vampires who killed his daughter.

"I thought, 'Why not? It's Lucy Liu, (cinematographer) John Toll and (director) Sebastian Gutierrez," said Chiklis. "I love Lucy Liu, she's wonderful."

While Chiklis said "Rise" wasn't a big creative stretch, he hopes it and "Silver Surfer" will lead to other opportunities.

"You wish and hope for that dream role to come. But what do you do in the interim? You play what's there. Those cherry roles don't come every day," he said.

"It took me until I was 38 to get that opportunity," he said, referring to "The Shield."

The FX series will start shooting its final season at the end of the summer.

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