He 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 Thing, from 2005 s Fantastic Four.
That movie grossed about $500 million worldwide. It s like being at a rock 'n' 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 going wide later in the season, and his Emmy-winning TV show The Shield wraps up its sixth season Tuesday, June 5.
While Chiklis isn t as much of a household name as say, his Fantastic Four co-star Jessica Alba, the 43-year-old actor s star is rising. But it didn t happen overnight for the former Andover High football player who 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.
After The Commish and a sitcom Daddio, which only lasted one season, 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 directed and produced some episodes of the show. 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.
It s remarkable.
The show also comes with its perks: like being able to ban anyone from wearing a Yankee cap from the set unless Chiklis wants to put a hurting on a perp wearing the symbol of the nemesis of his beloved Boston Red Sox.
I have been encouraged to grow as a director, a producer and a filmmaker (at The Shield ), he said.
That s another rare thing. Usually people are trying to keep you at bay instead of encouraging you to flourish.
Another Shield perk: He loves the show s cast and crew, who often attend each others kids school plays and soccer games.
It really helps when you like each other, he said. They have become uncles to my children. Long after The Shield is a memory, these guys will be my friends.
Through his work on The Shield, other opportunities opened up for Chiklis, including the chance to portray The Thing in the first Fantastic Four. He reprises his role in the Silver Surfer, and is tentatively on board for a third installment of the film series.
While at first, his big-screen role was a boon, it quickly turned into a mixed blessing.
As The Thing, he had to don a 60-pound latex costume for 12 hours a day. At least five of those hours were spent in makeup before shooting could start.
It was uncomfortable and unhealthful, Chiklis said of his old suit.
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