He's also starring in a supernatural thriller with
Lucy Liu called
Rise, slated for this summer. "I can't really describe it
without giving too much away," he says. "I'll just say that Lucy is
divine in it. And it's got a real old-school genuine American noir
feel to it." In the film, Chiklis plays an L.A. cop, somewhat
familiar territory. "On the surface, people are saying 'Why are you
doing this movie?' Like, big stretch, you know? When you see it,
you'll see why. It's very different than anything I've done."
Were there any downtime (there isn't), he'd love to take his family
back to their beloved
Boston. He would book a room for his family
at their favorite hotel, the Ritz-Carlton, overlooking the Public
Garden, and take his wife to a hushed, romantic dinner at Petit
Robert Bistro in Kenmore Square, or at L'Espalier on Gloucester.
One afternoon the family could go shopping along
Charles Street or
inside Copley Place, and later they could stop at the Boston
Children's Museum or the
New England Aquarium. And at night, they
could visit the North End to fill up at any number of that area's
classic Italian restaurants - Lucia, Joe Tecce's, Mamma Maria. "You
just can't find Italian food like that on the West Coast," he says.
"It just doesn't exist."
Of course, Chiklis would have to catch some sports while he was in
town. He loves his Patriots, but it's the Sox who have his heart.
In 2002, Chiklis threw out the first pitch at a Sox game, and you
get the feeling that, along with his
Emmy and his
Golden Globe, it
was the kind of honor that can make a guy's life. Afterward, he
joined a group of friends for dinner at Abe & Louie's steak
house, and they feasted on rib eyes and red wine. "Now, that was a
good day," he says with a sigh.