Actor Michael Chiklis didn't lose any money in the escalating Bernard Madoff scandal, but early this year, he fell victim to another, similar Ponzi scheme. Now, he's turned his costly
experience into creative fodder. He's developing a TV series "House of Cards," fueled by his own negative experience and material from others who have been hurt by investor scams.
Chiklis says, "if I had hair, it'd curl," from the stories he has heard from people who have been burned in such ripoffs. "There are fascinating characters who perpetrate these schemes," he says. With emerging news about the Madoff scandal, he's convinced that a drama about such scoundrels and their prey would be compelling to viewers. Chiklis starred in the recently concluded FX cop drama "The Shield."
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