The Shield and Fantastic Four star Michael Chiklis stopped by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and spoke about how his daughter Autumn Isabella, 13, landed the role of Cassidy, daughter of his corrupt cop alter ego Vic Mackey, on the violent FX drama. The script had called for his character to have an 8-year-old daughter and Michael suggested Autumn, then 7, audition for the part - and she did audition, he stressed.

She was always yumping to me about being an actress. She had done a bunch of plays. I know this sounds false as all get out, but she did read for it, only because I was afraid for her. I wanted to make sure she can do it. I didn't want to put my daughter in that position. I wanted to see, 'Can she hang? Can she do this?'

With The Shield currently filming its seventh and final season, Autumn will soon be done with acting for the time being as Michael wishes for her to experience as much of her adolescence as possible. If and when she does want to pursue acting in the future, he will fully support her.

Well if she wants to do that, she'll have 1000 percent of my support. But I want her to have a real life in the world. If she decides, when it's time to go to college, that she wants to study acting formally and that's what she wants to do, then okay, great. But in the meantime, she's gonna go to school, she's gonna have pep rallies, she's gonna get her heart broken. She's gonna do all that stuff she can draw on as an actress.

Speaking of heartbreak, the actor says he knows exactly what he's going to do when boys are lined up at his door to ask Autumn out.

I think I'm gonna give him the DVD box set of The Shield. There's an upside to playing Vic Mackey and that's it. The kid'll come back and go, (terrified voice) 'Hello, Mr. Chiklis. You know what? I'm not gonna pick up Autumn. I'm just gonna go home.'

Michael and his wife Michelle have another daughter, Odessa, 8.