Other starring television roles of his include Commissioner Tony Scali on the ABC police drama The Commish (1991–1996), Chris Woods in Daddio (2000), Jim Powell on the ABC science-fiction comedy-drama No Ordinary Family (2010–2011), Vincent Savino in the CBS crime drama Vegas (2012), Dell Toledo in American Horror Story: Freak Show (2014), and Nathaniel Barnes in Gotham (2015–2017).

His mother, Katherine (née Vousboukis), is a hospital administrative aide, and his father, Charlie Chiklis, runs a hair and beauty salon.

As a child, Chiklis appeared in regional theater productions and became a member of the Actors' Equity Association at age 13.

[7] After graduating from college, Chiklis moved to Brooklyn, New York, and was cast in the role of John Belushi in the controversial biopic Wired (1989).

[8] The film was panned in general and flopped at the box office, though Chiklis's performance as Belushi (one of his idols) was highly praised.

[12] Chiklis won over creator Shawn Ryan and nabbed the leading role of the show's anti-hero, LAPD Detective Vic Mackey.

In the wake of the Bernie Madoff scandal, Chiklis was developing[needs update] a series at FX about a similar investment scheme.

The project, called House of Cards, concerns a group committing an elaborate scam similar to the Madoff fraud.

In March 2014, it was announced that Chiklis had been cast in American Horror Story: Freak Show, season 4 of the FX anthology series.

[21] A lifelong comic book fan he especially enjoyed Fantastic Four prior to his role as Ben Grimm, it was reported in 2010 that Chiklis rarely turns down an autograph request from children.

[22] Chiklis is a fan of both the Boston Red Sox,[23] and the Boston Bruins,[24] was interviewed for the HBO documentary The Curse of the Bambino about the Red Sox's long struggle to win the World Series,[25] and narrated the video introduction of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX.

"[31] Chiklis has participated in celebrity Texas hold 'em tournaments to benefit comedian Brad Garrett's charity foundation, Maximum Hope.

Chiklis has worked closely with many different charities over the years including The Children's Lifesaving Foundation,[32] Alzheimer's Association,[33] Autism Speaks[34] and the Revlon Run Walk.