Michael Chiklis

FX Network's "The Shield" is based in Los Angeles, but its star, Michael Chiklis, got his start on the mean streets Northeastern Massachusetts.

Emmy-winner Chiklis, who plays L.A. Detective Vic Mackey, was born in Lowell and grew up in Andover. He got his BFA from Boston University School of Performing Arts, and then headed to NYC after graduation.

Other projects he's been involved in include the 1989 movie "Wired," in which he played John Belushi. He also starred in a short-lived NBC sitcom "Daddio" in 2000. He played Commissioner Anthony "Tony" J. Scali in "The Commish" in the early 1990s.