offer which he "almost took." Actor Michael Chiklis had not been associated with brutish characters like Vic Mackey before his work on The Shield. He was best known at the time for portraying the balding, friendly and slightly overweight Tony Scali in The Commish (1991–96), and similar roles prior. After playing Curly Howard in the TV movie The Three Stooges (2000), Chiklis decided to reinvent his image. He underwent an intense workout regime and shaved his head, completely transforming his appearance. His casting as Mackey was seen as unusual at the time given his previous roles. Kevin Reilly, FX's then-president of entertainment, was quoted saying “I knew [Chiklis] as a soft, cuddly guy physically and emotionally. He came in with this shaved head and his biceps, and he just chewed through the scene. He blew us away." Role in The Shield Character summary Mackey's surname is of Irish or Scottish origin, and he is occasionally seen in a shamrock T-shirt. He also mentions that his father was a bricklayer. In the show's fifth season, he tells Lt. Jon Kavanaugh that he has been a police officer for fourteen years. In a DVD commentary for season four, Chiklis mentions that the strike team members are from the same areas as the actors who portray them, implying that Mackey is a native of the Boston, Massachusetts area. Mackey works for the Los Angeles Police Department in the fictional Farmington district of Los Angeles, an area plagued with gang-related violence, drugs, and prostitution. He leads the 'Strike Team,' an experimental anti-gang unit. The Shield and the Strike Team were inspired by the Rampart Division Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) unit within the Los Angeles Police Department. The team initially consists of four members, Shane Vendrell, Curtis Lemansky, and Ronnie Gardocki, led by Vic. They are all close friends, although this friendship is tested multiple times throughout the series. Mackey and the Strike Team use criminal methods to coerce information and stage arrests and take a share of various drug busts. Wired highlight the loyalty of the Strike Team to Vic, "no matter how far he crosses the line." At the start of the series, Vic is happily married to his wife, Corrine, and they have three children, Matthew, Megan and Cassidy. Both Matthew and Megan are revealed to be autistic. The high costs incurred as a result of their tuition fees often