Michael Chiklis on The Senior, Tough Characters, and Fantastic Four's The Thing

When asked what drew him to the football drama The Senior , veteran actor Michael Chiklis doesn’t mince words with his answer.

“Look, all we do as actors is look for great stories,” Chiklis tells Den of Geek . “You know how movies say ‘Based on a true story?’ This isn’t based on a true story, this is a true story.”

Such earnest candor should be no surprise to anyone familiar with the veteran actor. Across a career that stretches back to guest appearances on Miami Vice and playing John Belushi in the biopic Wired in 1989, Chiklis has portrayed everything from a corrupt cop on The Shield , for which he won a Best Actor Emmy, to a carnival strong man on American Horror Story: Freak Show to Marvel’s ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing in Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise o