Michael Chiklis

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Lore & Background

Michael Chiklis heard about auditions for the role of John Belushi when he was weeks away from picking up his theatre arts degree at Boston University. He rushed down to try out, and in the first 24 hours, he was called back 57 times to see different people. It was the first movie he ever read for. He was called back three times at first, then six to eight months would go by and he'd be called again, asked to perform two to three times, then nothing for maybe 10 months. He'd just about given up hope, then he'd get another call for more auditions. Chiklis finally won the role after being chosen over 200 other actors, and he put on 30 pounds for the part. The blue-eyed actor also wore brown contact lenses to more closely resemble Belushi.

In Their Own Story

Chiklis portrayed Belushi in *Wired*, a film that was both a critical and a commercial failure. The film has yet to be released on DVD or Blu-ray, and the videocassette originally released by International Video Entertainment is out of print. In the film, Chiklis as Belushi sings the blues number "I'm the King Bee" with the Killer Bees on *Saturday Night Live* in 1976, and later performs "You Are So Beautiful" in the style of Joe Cocker. The film includes a scene where Billy Preston appears as himself, playing a piano accompaniment to Chiklis as Belushi singing that song.

Reader's Guide

Chiklis's performance in *Wired* was his film debut. The film was based on the 1984 book of the same title by *Washington Post* journalist Bob Woodward, and adapted for the screen by *Buckaroo Banzai* creator Earl Mac Rauch. The producers of *Wired* had problems finding a distributor for the film, as many of the major studios refused to distribute it. Principal photography commenced in May 1988 and finished in the autumn of that year, though the film was not theatrically released until August 1989. The film's $13 million budget included $1 million from producers Edward S. Feldman and Charles R. Meeker, with the rest coming from the New Zealand conglomerate Lion Nathan.

Did You Know?

• Michael Chiklis was called back 57 times in the first 24 hours of auditions for the role of John Belushi.
• Chiklis put on 30 pounds and wore brown contact lenses to more closely resemble Belushi.
• It took the producers three years to cast the role of Belushi, with Chiklis being chosen over 200 other actors.
• Chiklis was weeks away from picking up his theatre arts degree at Boston University when he heard about the auditions.
• The film *Wired* has yet to be released on DVD or Blu-ray, and the original videocassette is out of print.