Chiklis was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, to Charlie Chiklis, a second-generation Greek American who runs a hair salon, and Kate, a hospital administrative aide from whom Chiklis has been described as inheriting his acting ability. Chiklis' paternal ancestors came from Lesbos Island. Chiklis grew up in Andover, Massachusetts and began entertaining his family with celebrity imitations when he was just five years old. As a child, Chiklis appeared in regional theater productions and earned his Actor's Equity card at age thirteen. He later attended Boston University College of Fine Arts, where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts.
At age 20, Chiklis shaved his head to look like male-pattern baldness for the part of a 65-year-old man in You Can't Take It With You. Instead of using powder on his head (as he did on his face), he used greasepaint, and he failed to remove it properly at the end of each day. This killed the hair follicles on his head, essentially shaping his career in many ways. Chiklis has said in an interview that this was a very traumatic experience as a young actor, and is the reason he wore a hairpiece in Wired.
Chiklis married Michelle Morán on 21 June 1992 and they have 2 daughters, Autumn, born on October 9, 1993, and Odessa, born in 1999. Autumn plays Vic Mackey's daughter Cassidy on The Shield.
He attended the same high school as his good friend Jay Leno.
A lifelong comic book fan, he rarely (if ever) turns down an autograph request from children. In fact, according to the DVD commentary for the Fantastic Four film, his voice has been going hoarse from doing so many requests as Thing; in Chiklis's own words
"How do you say 'no' to an 8 year old?"
Chiklis is a fan of both the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Bruins, and narrated the video introduction of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX.
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