Line #12 Creator/MichaelChiklis


1	[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MichaelChiklis_3561.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:340: "[[Film/FantasticFourDuology It's Clobberin' Time!]]"]]
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4	Michael Charles Chiklis (born August 30, 1963 in Lowell, Massachusetts) is an Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor, producer, director, musician and philanthropist. He is an American of Greek and Irish descent.
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6	!!Film Roles
7	* ''Film/{{Wired}}'' (1989) - Creator/JohnBelushi
8	* ''Film/{{Nixon}}'' (1995) - TV Director
9	* ''Film/{{Taxman\|1998}}'' (1998) - Andre Rubakov
10	* ''Film/{{Soldier}}'' (1998) - Jimmy Pig
11	* ''Anime/SpiritedAway'' (2001) - Chihiro's father (English dub voice)
12	* ''Film/{{Fantastic Four\|2005}}'' (2005) as [[ComicBook/TheThing Ben Grimm / The Thing]]
13	* ''Film/RiseBloodHunter'' (2007) - Clyde Rawlins
14	* ''Film/FantasticFourRiseOfTheSilverSurfer'' (2007) - Ben Grimm / The Thing
15	* ''Film/EagleEye'' (2008) - Defense Secretary Callister
16	* ''Film/HighSchool2010'' - Dr. Leslie Gordon
17	* ''Film/{{Parker}}'' (2013) - Melander
18	* ''Film/TheDoOver'' (2016) - Carmine
19	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Mutafukaz}}'' (2018) - Crocodile (English dub voice)
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21	!!Television Roles
22	* ''Series/{{Wiseguy}}'' (1989) - Carlo Spoletta
23	* ''Series/TheCommish'' (1991-1996) - Tony Scali
24	* ''Series/TheShield'' (2002-2008) - Vic Mackey
25	* ''Series/NoOrdinaryFamily'' (2010-2011) - Jim Powell
26	* ''Series/{{Vegas\|2012}}'' (2012-2013) - Vincent Savino
27	* ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryFreakShow'' (2014-2015) - Dell Toledo
28	* ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy'' (2014) - Milo
29	* ''Series/{{Gotham}}'' (2015-2017) Nathaniel Barnes
30	* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' (2018) - Zeus (voice)
31	* ''WesternAnimation/DeathstrokeKnightsAndDragons'' (2020) - [[ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} Slade Wilson / Deathstroke]]
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33	!!Associated Tropes:
34	* AwesomeDearBoy: When it was announced that a ''Film/{{Fantastic Four\|2005}}'' film was in the works, he was the first man in line to audition. When casting was announced, he walked up to Creator/StanLee and introduced himself as Ben Grimm.
35	* TheBigGuy: He is frequently cast in these sorts of roles, on account of his stocky physique. His [[TheSmartGuy Smart Guy]] roles are invariably {{Genius Bruiser}}s, and his [[TheHero Heroes]] and [[TheLancer Lancers]] inevitably overlap with [[BuffySpeak Big-Guydom]].
36	* OldShame: He hated doing ''Wired''. See below. He even apologized to John Belushi's best friend, Creator/DanAykroyd, and brother, Jim Belushi, who both forgave him.
37	* ParodyAssistance: He voiced Vic Mackey and the Thing in the ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' sketch "The Fantastic SHIELD", a crossover between ''The Shield'' and ''Fantastic Four''.
38	* PlayingAgainstType: It's been long enough for many people to have forgotten that prior to ''Series/TheShield'', Chiklis was primarily known as a pudgy comedic actor who could do light drama. Then he played Vic Mackey and showed just how good of a dramatic actor he could be.
39	* PrematurelyBald: Early in his career, he was already noticeably balding and he played a role that required his head to be covered in grease paint. He waited too long before washing it off and discovered that the lack of oxygen had killed off a large portion of his remaining hair follicles. He quickly made it his signature look.
40	* PromotedFanboy: He grew up reading ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'', and played his favorite character, Ben Grimm, in the [[{{Film/FantasticFour}} 2005 and 2007 films]].
41	* RealLifeRelative: His daughter, Autumn, played Vic Mackey's daughter Cassidy on ''Series/{{The Shield}}''.
42	* StarDerailingRole: ''Wired'' was his first major film, a biopic about legendary comedian Creator/JohnBelushi, which was... ''insane'' to say the least. Due to focusing mostly on Belushi's drug addiction and its bizarre plot which has Belushi's ghost being driven around by a guardian angel posing as a Puerto Rican cab driver while also having a subplot with Bob Woodward (who wrote the book the film was loosely based on) talking to people about the dangers of drugs, it was seen by many in Hollywood, especially by Belushi's loved ones, as a confusing, tone-deaf, exploitative, and completely tasteless film that endlessly preached that DrugsAreBad, despite the execution being so utterly weird that one can't help but wonder if the filmmakers were on drugs themselves. The film was barely shown in theaters, utterly flopped at the box office, was critically panned, and faded away into obscurity after getting a brief run on VHS and no DVD release. The film almost killed his career in the crib, as most of Hollywood were outright refusing to touch those who worked on the film for a while. While J.T. Walsh (who portrayed Woodward) recovered without difficulty due to an already established career, Chiklis didn't work again for almost two years, and he didn't really recover until...
43	* StarMakingRole: ...''Series/TheCommish'' and ''Series/TheShield'', and to a lesser extent, ''Film/FantasticFour2005'', put him back on the map in a big way.
44	* TookALevelInBadass: A RealLife version. After portraying Curly in a ''[[Film/TheThreeStooges Three Stooges]]'' TV movie, Chiklis grew unsatisfied with the direction of his career. To reinvent his image, his wife spent six months helping him with a new workout regimen. Then he [[ImportantHaircut shaved his head]], and showed up to audition for ''Series/TheShield'' looking like a scary badass who bore little resemblance to the lovable, pudgy "[[Series/TheCommish Commish]]" types he'd played up to that point.

Context Creator / MichaelChiklis