The TV Show That Nearly Cost Michael Chiklis His Starring Role As The Shield's Vic Mackey

Michael Chiklis' Vic Mackey is the heart (though not necessarily the soul, given his many misdeeds) of FX's "The Shield." The crime drama focuses on the LAPD Strike Team, a particularly brutal unit that deals with particularly brutal criminals. Unfortunately, Mackey's team is just as prone to breaking the law as the many folks it apprehends, which often puts it on the hot seat as the pressure mounts from both sides of the law. 

Apart from numerous amazing recurring roles played by folks like Forest Whitaker, Michael Peña, and Glenn Close, the main characters are brought to life by the likes of future "Fallout" star Walton Goggins, CCH Pounder, and Benito Martinez. Yet, front and center of the show stands Chiklis himself, radiating corrupt cop energy from every pore. The actor not only plays Vic Mackey, he is Vic Mackey — which makes it all the more unbelievable to find out that the people behind the show were originally highly skeptical of casting him, thanks to his past cop role on "The Commish." 

For those who aren't familiar with the ABC cop comedy-drama "The Commish," it aired from 1991 to 1996 and starred Chiklis as Eastbridge Police Commissioner Tony Scali. Happily unfit and unperturbed by his losing battle against male pattern baldness, Tony was a smiling, humorous figure who was very good at his job but considered violence the absolute last option in any given situation. As "The Shield" creator Shawn Ryan said in Entertainment Weekly's oral history of the show, the lingering presumptions from "The Commish" almost denied Chiklis the opportunity to read for the role. "There was resistance amongst our casting folks when they heard he wanted to come and audition, like, 'He's really wrong for this,'" Ryan said. 

As luck would have it, Chiklis and Ryan lived close to each other, and after they bumped into each other and discussed the show, Ryan felt he had to give the actor an audition. This turned out to be fortunate, since Chiklis' wife had recently suggested that he should get in great shape as part of his quest to pursue more dramatic roles. As such, the actor was fighting fit when audition day came, and subverted expectations from the get-go. "It was the first time the words I'd written sounded good to my ear," Ryan described Chiklis' audition to Entertainment Weekly. "We have this idea of movie cops, and then you realize as you're looking at him, 'Yeah, he looks exactly like the cop that pulls me over for speeding.'" 

Despite lingering doubts over his past on "The Commish" and canceled NBC stay-at-home dad sitcom "Daddio," Chiklis' new look and attitude proved undeniable. One by one, his intense presence won over everyone involved with the show, and the powers that be soon decided that he was their Vic Mackey.

Chiklis went on to do such a great job as the character that he won a Primetime Emmy and a Golden Globe for his performance in the role. What's more, he managed to completely change his profile as an actor in one fell swoop. His work post-"The Shield" finale in 2008 includes the CBS All Access border agent drama "Coyote," as well as Ryan Murphy's "American Horror Story: Freak Show" and two "The Fantastic Four" movies.