TCA Press Tour: Michael Chiklis comes on strong in ‘No Ordinary Family’

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Michael Chiklis wants you to know his new ABC drama, ‘No Ordinary Family,’ is not ‘The Incredibles’ and it’s not ‘Heroes.’

The story of a family that gains supernatural powers through no fault of their own and must learn to live with them stars Chiklis (‘The Shield’) and Julie Benz (‘Dexter’) as Jim and Stephanie Powell, parents of two teenagers who have hit a rut in their lives.

But don’t call Jim Powell a ‘sad sack’ because Chiklis has a lot to say about that:

‘He’s a guy in a transitional period in his life,’ said Chiklis during a panel session for the show on Sunday. ‘He’s a failed artist, a guy who really wanted to be a great artist and is now using his art in a constructive manner as a sketch artist for the police department. So he has a job. He’s gainfully employed. He’s contributing to his family and not really a Mr. Mom, but he’s been a very active father. And now his kids are growing up and going into that empty nest phase where he feels his kids moving into their own worlds and interests. And his wife is very, very successful and he’s asking, ‘Where am I in this?’ So he’s a strong man who’s trying to determine what the rest of his life is gonna look like.’

After ‘The Shield’ ended on FX, Chiklis said he wanted to try being part of a show with mass commercial appeal. He signed up for ‘No Ordinary Family’ because he’s always drawn to characters that are ‘powerful.’

‘You want to entertain people and to be involved in something, that 18 or 80, can sit down and enjoy this, appealed to me,’ he said.

Romany Malco (‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’), who is part of the cast, joked he could vouch for Chiklis’ own power.

‘I always pinch his butt,’ he said. ‘I always tell him it’s like a rock down there.’

-- Maria Elena Fernandez twitter.com/writerchica

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Pilot View: ABC’s new drama, ‘No Ordinary Family’

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