Michael Chiklis began his acting career by portraying one of his idols, John Belushi, in the biopic “Wired” (1989). He went on to star in movies through the 90s such as Oliver Stone’s “Nixon” (1995), “Body and Soul” (1998), and “Taxman” (1998). His breakout performance came in the police procedural TV show “The Shield” (2002–2008), where he portrayed Detective Vic Mackey, for which he won a Primetime Emmy. He simultaneously starred as Ben Grimm/The Thing in “Fantastic Four” (2005) and “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” (2007). Chiklis has starred in multiple television series, such as “No Ordinary Family” (2010–2011), “American Horror Story: Freak Show” (2014–2015), and the HBO sports drama series “Winning Time” (2022–2023). He starred alongside Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio in “Don’t Look Up” (2021) and is the lead star of “The Senior” (2025).