Wow. Chiklis must have been in awful shape to be playing someone 12 years older than him when this series aired.
shareChiklis was 28 when the show premiered; his character was 38.
He was balding, so he could realistically look a decade older.
"Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody."
There are lots of ways to "age up" an actor--though with 28-38, the difference is as much one of confidence and carriage as it is looks.
What was really funny to me was that Geoffrey Nauffts, who played Tony's boyish protege Stan, was playing several years YOUNGER than his real age, while Michael Chiklis was playing several years OLDER than his. It's as if they switched places.
The studio/producers also asked him to stuff his shirt, to make him look heavy, like a near 40 year-old police commissioner.
Hanson~It's like a- it's like a da Vinci!
Penhall~Now it's a Warhol.
I think I remember him mentioning in an interview somewhere that in order to take on that role he had to gain weight and grow out his balding hair so that he looked more like the character was supposed to look. Michael Chiklis is actually more like his character in The Shield, physique and looks wise. He said it took a toll on his physical and emotional health to have to maintain a pudgier frame than he personally would have liked.
shareI remember when I found out how old he was. Younger than me and definitely not old enough to father kids the age of his on the show.
Like Patrick Stewart and the late John Macintyre he looked older than his age. Surprisingly now I think he looks younger than his real age.
Michael Chiklis was 16 years older than Kaj-Erik Eriksen. That is unusual but hardly biologically impossible.
You might find my answers to this question interesting. https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/63221/who-is-the-youngest-monarch-to-have-issue
I think they wanted a 40 year old actor but Chiklis must gave a great audition.
Look at Michael Ironside born in 1950 but always seemed much older.
Than there is the character actor Paul Ben Victor born in 1965(I wonder if that's accurate) since he was on freddy'a nightmare playing an older character when other actors that were there were the same age or older played teens and young adults