From Jelly-Filled to Hard-Nosed

The title character of ABC’s 1990s drama “The Commish,” paunchy police commissioner Tony Scali, never let chasing a criminal get in the way of a good meal.

“Chases usually lead to ... injuries, but no one ever got hurt by a bowl of linguini,” said Scali, as played by Michael Chiklis.

So guess what Chiklis is doing in the opening scene of his new FX show, “The Shield,” in which he plays a hard-driving and hard-living police detective?

One clue: There’s not a strand of linguini in sight. Chiklis is not only chasing down a drug dealer through alleys and down busy streets. He also seems to be running from the perceptions created by past roles, from “The Commish” to his portrayals of John Belushi in “Wired,” Curly in ABC’s “The Three Stooges” movie and the rotund, happy-go-lucky father in NBC’s short-lived sitcom “Daddio.”

Gone is the pot belly and thinning hair, replaced by a stocky, buff physique and shaved head that complements the glowering persona of his new role, Det. Vic Mackey. Despite the character’s overpowering dark side and violent nature, Chiklis says he has been revitalized, physically and mentally, by the part.

“It’s just a gift,” Chiklis said. “Rarely does an actor get to play this kind of three-dimensional character. He is gray and ambiguous. This role is challenging on so many levels. In the past, I’ve always played these roly-poly, genial guys. My heaviest lifting has been a doughnut. Now I’m getting thrown around. I’m just full of bruises.”

Chiklis indirectly credits the critical bruising he took on “Daddio” for his new look. The comedy about a stay-at-home father was yanked off the air a few weeks into its second season last year.

“That was a very painful experience for me,” he said. “It was a sweet family show I did for my children and the way the whole thing panned out was very painful. There was a tremendous amount of anger leveled at the show from the critics. I needed to find a way to get out of the pain, so I hit the gym and vowed to get into shape. I thought, ‘I’ll just go the other way in terms of career direction.’”

Chiklis is disturbed by some of the scenes he’s been involved in playing Mackey: “We’re dealing with some real sordid things here. And Mackey has to put on a real hard shell as his armor, otherwise he won’t survive,” he said.

Still, he’s amused at his unsmiling face plastered on billboards and bus placards as part of FX’s promotion for the series.

“At first I thought, ‘That’s pretty cool,’ and then I think, ‘Oh boy,’ and start to worry about what it all means,” Chiklis said. “Right now I’m living in the moment and enjoying it.”