Michael Chiklis made his name as an actor from starring in two hugely popular television shows, The Commish in the early ‘90s, and then, the even more popular The Shield, in the mid-00’s. He won an Emmy in 2002 for the latter, and he’s continued to act in a variety of roles ever since. Notably, he played Ben Grimm aka The Thing in 2005’s Fantastic Four and its sequel, and played real-life basketball coach Red Auerbach in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.
Chiklis plays another real-life person from the world of sports in The Senior, directed by Rod Lurie (The Contender, The Outpost), but it’s the lesser-known Mike Flynt, who was kicked out of Sul Ross State University and off the Lobos football team as its captain before his senior year. Four decades later, he decides to return to the school to finish up where he left things off, returning to the gridiron as a 59-year-old, playing with much younger men from a very different generation.
The Senior is a terrific, truly inspirational sports story that is likely to appeal to fans of college football who might easily understand Mike’s desire to get another shot at the sports greatness he had and lost during his earlier years. Chiklis gives a career-best performance, joined by Mary Stuart Masterson (from Some Kind of Wonderful), Rob Cordry, and James Badge Dale. Cinema Daily US had a chance to speak with the actor about taking on this fantastic role, an interview you can watch in the video player above.
The Senior opens nationwide on Friday, September 19.
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Director: Rod Lurie
Screenwriter: Robert Eisele
Cast: Michael Chiklis, Mary Stuart Masterson, Brandon Flynn, Rob Corddry, James Badge Dale, Corey Knight, Terayle Hill
Producer: Mark Ciardi, Campbell McInnes, Justin Baldoni, Andrew Calof, Manu Gargi,
Production Co: Wayfarer Studios, Select Films & Game 1, Ten Acre Films
Distributor: Angel Studios
Rating: PG-13 (Violence|Some Sexuality|Language)
Genre: Sports, Drama
Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): September 19, 2025
Runtime: 1 hour, 39 minutes
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You can watch the trailer for The Senior below: