After the flawless ending of The Shield last week, we're bound to hear what the actors have been up to since then.  But for those who are still unable to let go of their favorite FX network cop drama, you better go talk to Michael Chiklis.  The star, who plays the corrupt lead character Detective Vic Mackey, had a lot to say about the finale of one of TV's masterpieces.

“I had many thoughts about where Mackey might end up,” Chiklis began.  “None of them matched up perfectly with what finally happened.  But Shawn [Ryan, the show's creator] and I have been on the same page through all of this.  Specifics aside, my general notion of what would happen is what happened.” 

Since the end has arrived for The Shield, life for the Emmy Award-winning actor has been really different.  Michael Chiklis has gotten involved in the production of a ‘stoner' comedy, which he says “is about as far from Mackey as I can get.”  Cast as the dean of a high school institution, the actor even had to grow his rust-colored mustache for the role.  “It's just silly and fun.”

Like many of the fans, Mackey isn't ready to release his grip on the acclaimed series.  “How many times in an actor's career does a role like Vic Mackey come along where you have to live with it for years?,” he wondered.  In his career, he became known as a sitcom father in Daddio, a bubbly official in The Commish, and a rock-hard superhero on Fantastic Four.  It's definitely a change and challenge for him to snag the role of corrupt and tightly-wound Mackey. 

“It was almost symphonic.  Vic has this tremendous conscience at the same time he has these sociopathic tendencies,” he continued.  “By nature, that character is so relentless and so unflinching.  I'm a happy guy, and I always had to go to these consistently dark, dark places.  Sometimes I just didn't want to go.”  What's good is that critics have indeed praised Mackey for his work in treating the complexities of his character.

Even The Shield's creator Shawn Ryan was all admiration for Chiklis.  “Michael has been the Clydesdale that has pulled this show's wagon.  The amazing thing is his range.  The fact that he would be in all these 86 episodes, and show all these different sides of Mackey, and then show a new side of the character -- three or four different things we haven't seen before -- is astounding.  And he did so much just with his eyes.” 

“We all became this incredible family, and their work was just extraordinary,” Chiklis added. ” From the very beginning, it was never about creating a great pilot or a great series.  It was about putting on a series that never fell below the bar, from the beginning to the end.  And I believe we've done that.”


-Maria Gonzalez, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: The Los Angeles Times
(Image Courtesy of FX)