“Crazy things happen to him”: ‘Fantastic Four’ May Not Be the Greatest Achievement of Michael Chiklis’ Career as Actor Reveals Details About Epic New Series
Set in the 1970s, the MGM+ crime thriller drama Hotel Cocaine stars Danny Pino, Michael Chiklis, Mark Feuerstein, and more. Pino plays Roman Compte, a Cuban exile who is also the general manager of the Mutiny Hotel, famous for, as the title suggests, cocaine. The hotel was known as the Casablanca on cocaine and was visited by Florida businessmen and politicians, international Narcos, CIA agents, FBI agents, and more.
The co-creator of Netflix’s very popular drug drama Narcos, Chris Brancato, is serving as the showrunner and executive producer of the series. The eight-episode series premiered on June 16, 2024, with episodes being aired weekly on Sunday. Hotel Cocaine has received mixed reviews from critics and the audience. Michael Chiklis shared what made him say yes to the role.
Fantastic Four actor Michael Chiklis talks about playing Agent Dominic Zulio in Hotel Cocaine
Actor Michael Chiklis, who played The Thing in two Fantastic Four movies from 2005 to 2007, is currently playing the role of Agent Dominic Zulio in MGM+’s series Hotel Cocaine. In his recent interview with CBR, the actor revealed what made him say yes to the character. He said,
I was really reluctant at first when I heard law enforcement… And then you hear that it’s Chris Brancato. You go, okay? This is a great writer. And then Danny Pino’s the lead of it—well, Danny and I had a great time of The Shield together. It’s set in 1978, at the advent of the cocaine trade in Miami. That’s a great world, a different period, and very different circumstances. Let me have this meeting with Chris.
The actor added that the show runner started to explain about the character, his journey, and the way he would be involved in the plot of the show. Chiklis noted that Zulio is a very different character from what he played in The Shield or The Commis, adding that he understood that he could do something with it that would be unique. His fellow co-star, Mark Feuerstein, who plays Burton Greenberg on the show, added.
When they wrote the role of Zulio, they thought it’d be a just-by-the-book DEA agent. In the hands of Michael Chiklis, this role has mushroomed into an incredibly dimensional character. Crazy things happen to him.
Chiklis, in an interview with Mama’s Geekly, described his character as someone who is a drug investigator and is trying desperately to make some kind of difference about the growing cocaine trade in Miami circa 1978.
Michael Chiklis and Mark Feuerstein share about stepping into the 1970s setting
Feuerstein had shared with CBR that he simply loves his character, adding that he was thrilled to play ‘coke-snorting hippie’ who also owns a hotel where all the crazy people get to cavort. The actor noted that he relates to his character like Burton Greenberg; he is a black sheep in his family.
During an interview with Mama’s Geekly, when the stars were asked about how they felt about stepping into a 1970s setting for the show, Chiklis said,
Our set designers, costume designers, and all departments on this do an incredible job. And honestly, until my mustache went on, I wasn’t Dominic Zulio. I am an older guy, so I remember the 70s, and it just transports you into that world. It is helpful in playing the characters, just visually seeing everything.
Feuerstein added to the conversation that he would have loved to film in Miami, but it does not look like what it was in 1978. He noted that the Dominican Republic looked like Miami in 1978. The actor also credited the set designers, costume designers, and art designers for replicating how Miami in 1978 looked.
Hotel Cocaine is streaming on MGM+.
