Michael Shannon on Why He Doesn’t Consider General Zod a Villain and If He’ll Ever Do Comedy

I’m no casting agent, but I have pegged Michael Shannon for a super-villain role for years.  Still, I never thought Shannon — who has never really appeared in any blockbuster — would ever be tapped to star in such a role.  However, people all over the world who have never seen the Oscar-nominated actor act will see Shannon star as General Zod in Man of Steel, and he spoke to The Los Angeles Times about the role and if he ever lightens up.

Though General Zod is clearly the supervillain of Man of Steel, Shannon insists that he doesn’t see his character as evil.  He explains, “I don’t consider him a bad guy. He’s a general just trying to do his job. Ask any general what their purpose in life is and it’s to defend whatever people they happened to be aligned with. He’s aligned with Krypton. It’s his mission, plain and simple.” Read more

Michael Shannon: “For me the thought of trying to be in character all the time makes me very tired”

I’m sure I’m not the only one, but Michael Shannon playing the villain has me more interested in Man of Steel than anything else.  That’s because ever since I saw Take Shelter and started watching Boardwalk Empire Michael Shannon has become one of my favorite actors.  In an interview with the San Diego Reader, Shannon speaks about his early career, whether or not he believes in staying in-character on set, and is very open about his motivation to take roles. Read more

All Michael Shannon Wants is to Appear on David Letterman

Michael Shannon‘s rise from relative unknown to Oscar nominee to blockbuster movie super-villain has been long, but not as tough as some of his friends suggest.  Nonetheless, in a conversation with The New York Times he reveals that the reputation he’s gotten from his dark roles and rumors about his past have prevented him from fulfilling one of his dreams… appearing on The Late Show with David Letterman.

First, Shannon points to the fact that despite his stardom he’s often on the wrong side of luck.  For example, the one time Shannon was up for an Oscar (for Revolutionary Road) he was nominated in one of those years that the decision was a forgone conclusion: it was the same year Heath Ledger posthumously won the Oscar for The Dark Knight.  In fact, since Shannon was told countless times after being nominated that he wouldn’t beat Ledger, he did what any of us would do — get drunk for the ceremony.  He confesses, “I’d had a lot of gin. I was pickled. From the time I was nominated to the awards, it was like a steady litany of every human being on Earth telling me how I wasn’t going to win. It was like being beaten by broom handles. The bus driver being like, ‘You’re not going to win.’ The guy selling me my paper, the guy giving me my coffee, my publicist. By the time I got there, I was like, If I win I’m going to have to say something like ‘praise Satan’ and talk like Linda Blair from The Exorcist.” Read more

Michael Shannon: “I guess any time I take a job, I’m not afraid to dig into something, no matter how ugly it may be”

Michael Shannon‘s big movie this year is undoubtedly Man of Steel, in which he plays the Superman villain General Zod, but those who enjoy Shannon in his dark roles are also looking forward to his role as real-life serial hit man Richard Kuklinski in The Iceman.  After filming a haunting test scene, Shannon was drawn to starring as Kulinski in order to delve into his sordid character.

Shannon’s test scene — which has been viewed over 150,000 times on YouTube — gave director Ariel Vromen a chance to see if Shannon would work in the role.  He explains, “It was an opportunity for Ariel to get a little warm-up because he wanted to make this film for such a long time.  I think it was good to get that practice run and see what it was like. And it was a lot of fun.” Read more

Proof That Michael Shannon is Awesome: Watch Him Read the Delta Gamma Sorority Letter

Last week, there was a crazy letter going around from the Sorority President of Delta Gamma, Rebecca Martinson, to her fellow sisters.  In it she went bat-sh*t nuts calling out her sisters about how awful they were.

Now, Funny or Die gives us Michael Shannon reading that letter as only he could.

And it’ll be the best thing you see all day.

Check it out below! Read more

Michael Shannon: “One of the great things about acting – you get to pretend you’re somebody else, which is great if you get bored with yourself”

Phenomenal actor Michael Shannon will be appearing in his first sure-to-be blockbuster this year as the villainous General Zod in the newest Superman film, Man of Steel.  But fans of acting have already known of Shannon from his roles in films like Take Shelter and in his role on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire.  But Shannon is also an accomplished theater actor, and recent starred on Broadway opposite Paul Rudd in Grace (check out my review here!)  In fact, during the production Rudd interviewed Shannon for Interview magazine about what drew Shannon to acting.

Rudd asks Shannon how he feels about performing a play twice in one day.  He says,”It’s a little bit odd. The first time you do the play, you kind of throw yourself into it, trying to get the most out of all the individual moments. Then, a few hours later, you’re still there, wondering what you could possibly do differently than what you just did a couple hours ago. Sometimes I try to pitch my voice just a little bit higher as a way to deviate between the two performances. Or I’ll try a slightly different accent.”  Later he adds, “Sometimes it’s just fun to change. That’s one of the great things about acting—you get to pretend you’re somebody else, which is great if you get bored with yourself.” Read more

Trailer & 2 Clips: ‘Mud’ starring Matthew McConaughey, Sam Shepard, Michael Shannon and Reese Witherspoon

Mud is an adventure about two boys, Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and his friend Neckbone (Jacob Lofland), who find a man named Mud (Matthew McConnaughey) hiding out on an island in the Mississippi. Mud describes fantastic scenarios—he killed a man in Texas and vengeful bounty hunters are coming to get him. He says he is planning to meet and escape with the love of his life, Juniper (Reese Witherspoon), who is waiting for him in town. Skeptical but intrigued, Ellis and Neckbone agree to help him. It isn’t long until Mud’s visions come true and their small town is besieged by a beautiful girl with a line of bounty hunters in tow.

Director: Jeff Nichols

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, Sam Shepard, Michael Shannon and Reese Witherspoon

In Theaters: April 26th  Read more

Trailer: ‘The Iceman’ starring Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, James Franco, Ray Liotta & Chris Evans

The Iceman: Inspired by actual events, The Iceman follows notorious contract killer Richard Kuklinski (Academy Award^® nominee Michael Shannon) from his early days in the mob until his arrest for the murder of more than 100 men. Appearing to be living the American dream as a devoted husband and father; in reality Kuklinski was a ruthless killer-for-hire. When finally arrested in 1986, neither his wife nor daughters have any clue about his real profession. Co-starring Academy Award^®  nominee Winona Ryder (Black Swan) and Chris Evans (Avengers, Captain America), The Iceman is directed by Ariel Vromen (Danika) from a script he wrote with Morgan Land (Rx). The IcemanMay 3, 2013.

Writer/Director: Ariel Vromen

Starring: Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, James Franco, Ray Liotta, Chris Evans, David Schwimmer, Robert Davi and Danny Abeckaser

In Theaters: May 3rd  Read more

Michael Shannon and Samantha Morton To Star in ‘The Harvest’

Academy Award Nominees Samantha Morton and Michael Shannon will star in The Harvest, a psychological thriller that questions the lengths parents will go to in order to save their only child.  

Charlie Tahan (“Charlie St. Cloud”), Natasha Calis (“The Possession”), Leslie Lyles (“We Need to Talk About Kevin”) and Meadow Williams (“Sebastian”) will co-star.

Billy Hopkins cast the film and that will be directed by John McNaughton. The film is shooting in Palisades and Brooklyn, New York through January 2013. Read more

Trailer: ‘Man of Steel’ starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner & Diane Lane

Synopsis: Next summer, “Man of Steel” is coming to the big screen. The film is from director Zack Snyder and producers Charles Roven, Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas and Deborah Snyder. The screenplay was written by David S. Goyer from a story by Goyer & Nolan, based upon Superman characters created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics.

Director: Zack Snyder

Starring: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne

In Theaters: June 14th  Read more

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