Actor Michael Chiklis Plays 59-Year-Old College Linebacker In ‘The Senior’

Emmy-winning actor Michael Chiklis, 62, says it’s never too late to chase your dreams, and his new film underscores that notion.

“You know, the older you get, the more people sort of discourage you from doing things,” Chiklis tells AARP. “[They say,] ‘Be careful, that might not be the thing for you to do’ or ‘You really can’t do that now.’  ”

In the football film The Senior, Chiklis plays Mike Flynt, a 59-year-old who got a second opportunity to play college ball.

“Every minute’s a new minute,” Chiklis says. “And if there’s an old regret or an old ambition, something you want to get done, dust that off and put one foot in front of the other and do it.... That’s what’s so inspiring about Michael’s story. Mike Flynt did something about it.”

Courtesy Angel Studios

Flynt was the captain of the football team at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, when he was expelled in 1971 after a fight. Thirty-seven years later, he connected with old friends who urged him to pursue his dream of returning to college football because he was in such good shape. At age 59, he earned a spot on the NCAA Division III team as a special teams linebacker, becoming the oldest in collegiate history.

Chiklis describes The Senior as a “redemption tale” and says Flynt “was sitting right off camera the whole time” and “ended up being a big resource during the shooting of the film.

Flynt, a former strength and conditioning coach and entrepreneur, now works as a motivational speaker and author. He published his book The Senior in 2008.

Although Chiklis was captain of his high school football team, he ultimately chose to pursue acting, appearing in such TV hits as The Shield (which got him the Emmy) and The Commish and movies like Fantastic Four.

“Forty years later, to put on a uniform and step out on a field, it was thrilling,” he says. “One of the most exhilarating things I’ve ever done in my life.”

It was also physically challenging. “I walked out on that field and here are these 24- and 25-year-old studs. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve made a horrible decision.’ And that first time I slammed into some of those guys, I really thought, Oh, OK, you’re an idiot. But I fought through it.”

Chiklis says The Senior is a good choice if you're looking for an uplifting movie. “You’re going to laugh, you’re going to cry, and then you’re going to feel good and leave the movie with a smile on your face,” he says. ​