TORONTO — Actor Michael Chiklis is wrapping up a run next week as unofficial tourism ambassador for Toronto.
The U.S. star has been actively promoting Southern Ontario on social media while in the region filming the thriller Rupture.
On Twitter and Instagram, Chiklis has shared photos of the University of Toronto campus, Distillery District, Queen’s Park, High Park, Harbourfront, CN Tower and Niagara Falls.
The 51-year-old star of The Shield and last season’s American Horror Story tweeted photos Monday from inside the Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays were challenging the Red Sox.
Earlier, he shared photos from a weekend trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake and Niagara Falls with wife Michelle Moran and their daughters Autumn and Odessa.
Chiklis, who has 115,000 followers on Twitter and more than 14,000 on Instagram, posted a video clip of Al Di Meola performing at the Toronto Jazz Festival. “Just killing it,” he noted.
The actor also tweeted that he was walking around downtown Toronto listening to homegrown rock band Rush. “Just seems right,” he wrote.
He also reunited with Julie Benz — his wife in the short-lived series No Ordinary Family — who makes the Showcase series Defiance in Toronto. The two shared selfies taken at a dinner and at a Toronto FC game.
Chiklis captioned a photo of the Royal Ontario Museum: “Some really cool architecture here in Toronto… Both modern and old. #CoolCity.”
Tweeting a photo of himself at a window atop the CN Tower, Chiklis used the hashtag “#UglyAmericanTourist.”
For Tourism Toronto, the social media exposure provided by Chiklis is invaluable.
“It’s real reactions,” said Andrew Weir, executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “Someone’s natural and immediate reaction is always going to be more powerful than anything officially produced.”
Weir said Chiklis has done a great job marketing Toronto while working in the city.
“You can never have enough of people talking about the destination who are respected and have a large audience.”
Rupture, which also stars Noomi Rapace and Peter Stormare, is directed by Steven Shainberg (Secretary). Production is scheduled to wrap on July 8.
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