Actors Michael Chiklis and Julianne Nicholson are fiercely proud of their Massachusetts roots, even as they beat back the gangs of Los Angeles and fight crime in New York—and that’s all in a day’s work.
With longstanding Screen Actors Guild cards to prove it, this dynamic duo have managed to build résumés full of gutsy performances in both TV and film. Ironically, they both play tough-as-nails police detectives: Chiklis is a showstopper as the often-ruthless LA detective Vic Mackey on FX’s The Shield, and Nicholson intrigues audiences as Detective Megan Wheeler on NBC’s Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
As for films, this summer Chiklis returns as the Thing in the sure-hit sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and Nicholson plays the female lead in the indie film Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, currently in postproduction, which was adapted for the screen and directed by rising star John Krasinski of The Office.
Boston Common asked Chiklis and Nicholson whether there is a common thread that has led them from Boston to blockbuster.
BOSTON COMMON: Michael, you were born in Lowell, and Julianne, in Medford. People don’t usually associate these towns with stars.
MICHAEL CHIKLIS: Actually, Lowell has quite a track record for greats: Bette Davis was born in Lowell, the same with Jack Kerouac. Ed McMahon grew up in Lowell.
BC: Julianne, any Medford greats our readers should know about?
JULIANNE NICHOLSON: One interesting thing—Eric Bogosian, who plays Captain Danny Ross on Law & Order: CI, grew up in Woburn, and his dad lives in Medford. I grew up in Medford and my dad lives in Woburn—we both think that’s pretty funny.
BC: You both have a strong presence on The Shield and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Do the roles of Detectives Mackey and Wheeler fit your respective personalities?
MC: Talk about being divorced from your character. I have nothing to do with Vic Mackey whatsoever. I mean, I first learned about this show while I was attending a Gymboree class with my wife and little one! I’ve always thought of Mackey as a transplant, as East Coast. He’s in LA because he fell in love with a girl, ended up transferring, gets his gold shield and figures he can make a difference in the gang unit. I guess his being from the East Coast is the only similarity to me or my past.
JN: When I was first offered the part of Wheeler, I felt like saying, “Wait, detective, right?” For me to play a New York City detective was the furthest thing I could imagine. Wheeler is tough but still sensitive to the human experience. She’s also early enough in her career where she’s still affected by things. It’s very important for her to be in control.
BC: Your shows can be brutal. Does the subject matter affect you personally?
MC: I was taught early, well before I got on The Shield, that the responsibility of an actor is to the playwright and to the director. You’re supposed to make yourself like a conduit—an open vessel—but when the play is over or you hear “cut,” that’s it.
JN: I can go to dark places, but that doesn’t mean I have to go home and ignore my husband after a day on CI. When I was younger and in acting class, I thought you had to suffer the experience or whatever the character is going through. Maybe it’s the age thing, but I don’t think like that anymore.
BC: Michael, you are starring again as the Thing in this summer’s highly anticipated sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
MC: Coming June 15—everywhere!
BC: What was it like to get back into that infamous suit again—doesn’t it weigh 60 pounds?
MC: I had a series of conversations with the powers that be at Fox before going anywhere near that suit again, which went like this: “This suit’s unhealthy—we gotta work on it.” And they did. I’m happy to report it was a night-and-day experience.
BC: So you didn’t have to live in it, like you did with the first film?
MC: No—I didn’t have to sit around in it for hours. In movies like that, a setup can take up to five hours before they do another shot. The first suit was just miserable, but they could pull this second one off me in five minutes. I had to wear the face, which was a drag, but it was OK. The second face took an hour and a half to put on. The first one took three hours—I had to go to the set and be in the chair at 2:30 A.M. for a 6 A.M. call.
BC: Julianne, any horror tales to report about filming your most recent project, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men?
JN: Nothing like that. It was a great experience working with John [Krasinski]—he was terrific. John’s doing really well right now with The Office and deserves every bit of recognition. He adapted the David Foster Wallace book into a screenplay and also directed it. It’s about a woman, Sara, my part, who copes with a breakup by interviewing different men.
BC: You both have well-established careers with a balance of TV and film work. What are the pros and cons of each?
MC: With television, there’s a consistency and availability to your family, particularly your children, that’s wonderful. The downside: 14 to 16 hours a day. With film, you might have the luxury of time, but there’s a lot of hanging around. For example, I’ll go from The Shield, where we’ll do anywhere from nine to 12 pages a day, to Fantastic Four, where we’ll spend two days on an eighth of a page… it can be a bit like gum surgery, especially when you’re wearing 60 pounds of latex.
JN: I like knowing where I’m going to be for a long stretch of time, which TV roles can provide. But I’m unwilling to compromise quality for stability. All the shows I’ve done—ER, Law & Order, Ally McBeal—have been great. With most of my independent films, Tully, Passion of Mind, One True Thing, Flannel Pajamas, and Two Weeks with Sally Field, I’ve done the shoot in 30 days and then moved on. The pros to doing film work are that you get to explore different characters and meet different people.
BC: Michael, in 2006 you were named one of People’s sexiest men in the “Bald and Beautiful” category. Anything you want to say about your signature crown?
MC: What do I say about my head? Look, I’ve been lucky, but it was traumatic as a 20-year-old actor to start losing my hair, although it didn’t affect my work. Now I’m at a place where I really love being bald. The other thing: My wife loves the way I look.
JN: Just so you know, that’s not too hard for her.
MC: Thank you! You sit around watching TV and so many commercials make it sound like going bald is the worst thing that can happen to a man. Well, I’m here to tell you it’s not—a lot of women think it’s sexy, so let it shine, guys. You wanna hear an irony? My father owns a hair salon.
BC: Julianne, you’re managing to score winning roles with short hair—no easy feat in long-hair-obsessed Hollywood. Were you hesitant to shed your locks?
JN: No, I couldn’t wait to cut my hair. I’ve had short hair on and off my entire life. I did a movie called The Love Letter with Tom Selleck and Kate Capshaw, filmed in Rockport, Massachusetts. I had to shave my head for the role and keep it like that for two months.
BC: Did you get a different reaction from people when you went to that extreme?
JN: Yes, from men and women alike. I remember going to lunch with my grandfather at the Yacht Club in Danvers while I was filming, and he felt compelled to tell the waitress that it was for a film role—part of it was because he was proud of me, of course, but he also didn’t want the waitress getting any ideas as to why his granddaughter had this whiffle cut.
BC: Ah-ha! The accent—you let it slip when you said “Danvers.”
JN: I love the Boston accent. If I talk about my family or places, it definitely comes out. I’m proud of it, and it makes me crazy when I hear people do it badly.
MC: Yeah—it was so nice to see The Departed with a couple of Boston guys lettin’ it fly… Marky Mark was lettin’ it fly—wicked.
BC: What path did you take before you had your first big break?
MC: My path has been very strange. I was a theater rat when I was in Boston. I graduated from Boston University’s College of Fine Arts and then went to New York. When I got there, I thought, OK, I’ll get a small part in something and build on that. But I got the lead in the first movie I auditioned for, Wired, a very controversial major picture where I played John Belushi, when I was 23 years old.
JN: My career started when I gave up modeling (and waitressing!) after living in New York for several years. I said to myself, I’m going to do this for five years. No matter what—no matter if I don’t get a single job or a single audition—five years, nothing less! So I started taking acting classes, which led to my first feature film role in Curtain Call, starring Michael Caine and James Spader.
BC: What does acting provide for you?
MC: I always wanted to entertain people—to make them think and feel. When I was a kid, whenever I went to a play or movie or any kind of theater, it evoked joy and conversation. There’s something about being a communicator, even if the subject matter is sad.
JN: When I was younger, I remember being moved by film, TV, and plays. That really appealed to me—to be part of something that people could recognize or see a part of their own life in or feel challenged by. It’s pretty exciting to be a part of something so powerful.
BC: Final question. It’s summer and you’ve both lived away from Boston for a long time. Do you still wave the Red Sox banner?
MC: I’m a very personable guy. I use the word “hate” in regard to one thing: the Yankees. I have the seething, white-hot ire of a thousand suns when it comes to the Yankees. I hate them. I hate the Yankees!
JN: Yes, of course, the Sox. I would have said it anyway, but after witnessing Michael’s “Vic Mackey” performance just then, there’s no way I would say Yankees. Plus, I would never be allowed home if I went over to the dark side.
The complete article appears on page 114 in the Summer 2007 issue of Boston Common. SUBSCRIBE NOW and get Hamptons delivered directly to your door every week.
This should be an interesting read.
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