688 Michael Chiklis, actor, The Shield, No Ordinary Life, The Commish, joins us on Mr. Media! - a podcast by Bob Andelman

Today's Guest: Michael Chiklis, star, "No Ordinary Family," "The Shield," "The Commish," and as John Belushi in Wired and as Ben Grimm/The Thing in Fantastic Four Michael Chiklis, the star of ABC’s new superhero dramedy “No Ordinary Family” knows a thing or three about playing a hero. His first ABC series, "The Commish," featured Chiklis as a police commissioner, the kind that kids looked up to and donut shop owners enjoyed supporting in their neighborhoods. MICHAEL CHIKLIS audio excerpt: "We don't know what we're going to be able to achieve from a technical standpoint at the end of this season. The special effects are constantly leaping forward exponentially. The sky's the limit. Literally. I could definitely see 'No Ordinary Family' going out in 3-D. After that? I guess it's hologram. I'll be projected in the middle of your living room instead of on the wall."  And what greater superhero is there than Ben Grimm, the rocky “Thing” that Chiklis portrayed in two live-action movies about the original Marvel Comics superheroes, the Fantastic Four. He’s also played two classic anti-heroes, Detective Vic Mackey in the critically acclaimed FX series “The Shield” and John Belushi in the controversial biopic, Wired. In some ways, "No Ordinary Family" is a mashup of all those roles, mixing humor, a family sensibility and superpowers into 60 minutes of entertainment every Tuesday night at 8 p.m. If you haven’t seen it yet, watch the pilot on ABC.com. It’s way cooler than you might have expected, with sharp writing, clever twists and an occasional nod and a wink to comics fans.

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