The Shield's Michael Chiklis: Lookin' For a Record Deal

Actor not only acts, but he'll show off his rockstar chops this weekend at the Sundance Film Festival

You probably know Michael Chiklis as hard-hitting tough-guy Detective Vic Mackey on FX's hit former show The Shield.

But what you don't know about the Golden Globe Award-winning actor is that he actually has a funny side—and a musical side, too!

We caught up with the 46-year-old thesp right before he was heading out to the Sundance Film Festival, where he's going to be performing with his band at the premiere of High School, a comedy in which he plays an uptight principal (with hair!) opposite Adrien Brody and Colin Hanks...

High School is a film about getting stoned. How wild were you in high school?
I was pretty focused because I was so into theater and rehearsing and working. So I wasn't such a wild man.

How did recording a song for the film's soundtrack come about?
The director, John Stalberg, asked me if I could you do a 1978 throwback to an Aerosmith-meets-Boston track. I wrote the tune, recorded part of it in my home studio and the rest of it in my best friend's since I was 12. He's been in every band with me since I was 12.

So you've always loved making music?
That pesky acting career has always gotten in the way of me doing something with music. So this is an opportunity to do something and just have a blast.

After this, if you had a choice, do you think you would pursue a music career over an acting career?
I don't believe in something to the exclusion of another thing. I'd love to do music as well. I'd love to put out a CD.

Do you see yourself winning a Grammy in the future?
Oh, God, I don't think in those terms, but stranger things have happened.