Topic: Michael Chiklis

Michael Charles Chiklis (born August 30, 1963) is an American actor, voice actor, occasional director and television producer. Some of the previous roles for which he is best known include Commissioner Tony Scali on the ABC police drama The Commish, LAPD Detective Vic Mackey on the FX police drama The Shield, Thing in the Fantastic Four film series, and Jim Powell on the science-fiction, comedy-drama No Ordinary Family.

Chiklis was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, the son of Alfredo Chiklis, a second-generation Greek American who runs a hair/beauty salon, and Katherine, a hospital administrative aide from whom Chiklis has been described as inheriting his acting ability. Chiklis' paternal ancestors came from Lesbos Island and his mother is of Greek and Irish descent. Chiklis grew up in Andover, Massachusetts and began entertaining his family with celebrity imitations when he was five years old. As a child, Chiklis appeared in regional theater productions and became a member of the Actors' Equity Association at age thirteen. He later attended Boston University College of Fine Arts, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

At age 20, Chiklis shaved his head to look like male-pattern baldness for the part of a 95-year-old man in You Can't Take It With You. Instead of using powder on his head (as he did on his face), he used greasepaint, and he failed to remove it properly at the end of each day. This killed the hair follicles on his head, essentially shaping his career in many ways. Chiklis has said in an NPR interview that this was a very traumatic experience as a young actor, and is the reason he wore a hairpiece in Wired.