'Fantastic' voyage: Andover's Michael Chiklis' winding road to success brings him to summer blockbuster, hit TV series

Andover native Michael Chiklis may not be doing any singing, but this summer he's living the life of a rock star. 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 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 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." "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.

For the sequel, the suit was revamped to a light foam and Chiklis could be in and out of it 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. Chiklis, who so far has seen only portions of the final look of the effects used in the "Fantastic Four" sequel, was pretty impressed.

"I found myself like a kid, going 'Wow,'" he said. "It's a very exciting time to be in movies." Between "The Shield" and "Silver Surfer," Chiklis had a small window of time to do another project, so he took on "Rise: Blood Hunter.

" "I thought, 'Why not? It's Lucy Liu, (cinematographer) John Toll and (director) Sebastian Gutierrez," said Chiklis, who spent three weeks making the film in which he plays a police detective hunting the vampires who killed his daughter. "It wasn't the dream role I had been looking for," said Chiklis, who likes to take on projects that stretch his acting abilities.

"It was different enough. He's got a different set of dilemmas (from Vic Mackey)." While "Rise" wasn't a big creative stretch for Chiklis, he hopes it and "Silver Surfer" will lead to other career opportunities for him.

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

So far, Chiklis doesn't have any plans he can talk about, but is exploring other opportunities. "It's a brave new world," he said. "You get in a comfort zone of working.

The net is being removed and I am still walking a tight rope.