With a commanding screen presence that’s graced everything from awards-baiting prestige pictures to comic-book actioners, michael shannon is one of Hollywood’s hardestworking actors. Moody sci-fi Midnight Special is next on his overflowing slate. “I have
February 2016. Park City, Utah. The Sundance Film Festival is in full swing, and Total Film is ensconced in the top-floor suite of a mountainside condo, awaiting the arrival of Michael Shannon (the traffic is heavy on Main Street at this time of year). Given the 41-year-old actor’s propensity for intense, glowering characters, the idea of sharing a sofa with General Zod could leave you sweating (even in a location as snowy as this ski resort), but in reality there’s nothing to fear. Shannon rocks up without ceremony, dressed casually in a light-grey overcoat, T-shirt and beanie, his snowy boots left at the door.
Settling into the sofa, his measured Kentucky drawl is softer than it sounds on screen, and he takes time with his answers. The film kickstarting today’s conversation is
Midnight Special, the enigmatic, ’80s-flavoured sci-fi chase film which sees him play a father on the run with his preternaturally gifted son ( Jaeden Lieberher). It’s director Jeff Nichols’ fourth film, and the fourth to feature Shannon; their previous collaborations being Shotgun
Stories, Take Shelter and Mud. The range in that output alone is symptomatic of Shannon’s career as a whole. A humble grafter, he’s racked up 80+ credits in just over two decades. “Acting is a service industry,” he told TF when we last met. “You’re serving writers, directors... I just do what people want me to do.”
Reclining his long frame (he’s 6’ 3 1/2”) and propping his feet up on the coffee table, he denies having a plan. After first appearing in a blinkand-miss part in Groundhog Day, Shannon’s career has been anything but repetitive. Starting out hidden in support roles, he got his name on the call sheet with a gallery of big-name movie stars from Tom Cruise to Keanu Reeves, landing gigs for the likes of Michael Bay, Joel Schumacher and Cameron Crowe.
Looking at the list of directors he’s since worked with – William Friedkin, Oliver Stone, Sidney Lumet, Werner Herzog, Sam Mendes – if he hasn’t sought out auteurs, they’ve made a beeline for him. After playing his first notable lead in Bug (reprising a role he originated on the stage), he didn’t abandon supporting parts. An Oscar nod for Revolutionary Road cemented his rep as one of the foremost character actors around, but after that recognition, the work was just as diverse, with outlandish comedies sitting alongside brain-scrambling dramas and awardwinning TV on his CV. In 2013, he entered the consciousness of comic-book fans as the aforementioned Zod in Zack Snyder’s Man Of
Steel, proving that big budgets and CGI could do nothing to dampen his menace.
2016 is looking to be a typically eclectic year; following Midnight Special into cinemas will be
Elvis & Nixon, in which he plays the King to Kevin Spacey’s pres. And while he’s in Sundance, he’s debuting two contrasting relationship dramas – Complete Unknown and Frank & Lola – and also finding time to perform with his band Corporal (we swayed along at the gig after the interview). Just don’t go thinking it’s all part of a masterplan. “I just read scripts, and the ones I like, I do ‘em,” he shrugs. “I don’t have a plan or strategy or anything like that.”
Midnight Special is a really mysterious film. How did Jeff Nichols pitch it to you?
Well, the first I’d heard about Midnight Special was when we were shooting Take Shelter. He basically said, “Yeah, I’m writing this script. It’s you in a car. It’s like a chase movie.” That was all he said. I didn’t know what to expect. But Jeff is a man of few words. It’s also his style of filmmaking. He’s always trying to figure out how he can say as little as possible and still tell the story he wants to tell.
When did you get the script?
It was after Mud. As usual, the script knocked me
people don’t explore elvis’ deeper psychology often. they just play it on the surface
out. I just think Jeff’s an extraordinary writer. But I would do anything with Jeff, pretty much sight unseen. He’s my favourite.
What is it about you two? Did you click immediately? Yeah. You know, it’s kind of hard to put into words. The thing about people who are unique is that it’s hard to describe them. That’s what makes them unique. I mean, with Shotgun Stories, the way our relationship started, I really admired… He has a lot of guts. He has a lot of confidence. Not hubris, but confidence, combined with a very healthy respect for the medium for film. And he’s always questioning himself. Even in spite of this confidence, he’s very vigilant. He doesn’t settle for “good enough”. He wants to make a perfect film. How did you find the process of working with Jaeden Lieberher in Midnight Special? Obviously that relationship is so key to the film... Yeah, and that’s a hard relationship to just jump into, you know? Oftentimes, honestly, working with children can be very challenging, only
because a lot of what makes children great on camera is that they’re kind of unconcerned with the result. They’re not even necessarily aware of the process or the act of telling a story. It’s just make-believe. But Jaeden is an astonishing young actor. He’s very sophisticated. He’s very aware of the story. And he’s very aware of the people he’s working with. Do you and Jeff have a shorthand now after all these films together? I’m not sure that we do. I think it’s always because Jeff is always trying to do something different. It’s not like we just show up and make the same movie again. He’s challenging himself to broaden his scope. And to do something that he hasn’t done before. So he’s constantly reinventing his method of working. I mean, he’s growing as an artist, I feel. So is Loving, which you’re now shooting with Jeff, a completely different film as well?
Loving is an incredible story. I was only on the set of Loving for one day. I do a cameo. But, I mean, that’s a great example: the first scene we were shooting was my character – Grey, the photographer – showing up to photograph the Lovings for Life magazine. Ostensibly, it’s a very simple shot of just me walking into the yard, introducing myself to Joel Edgerton’s character, and saying I’m there to take their picture. And we did so many takes of it, because Jeff wanted to get it exactly right, and he wanted to do it a very particular way, and he wanted it to look a certain way. Not a single frame is taken for granted.
Do you share that perfectionist streak? Yeah. I mean, I definitely have that. I’m usually sad to finish a scene. I usually want to take another crack at it, come at it from another angle – make sure we’ve exhausted every possibility. I mean, you don’t always have that luxury. You don’t always have the time for that. Going all the way back to when you first started… Did you feel intimidated working with Bill Murray on Groundhog Day? Bill Murray’s a legend. And to see his talent up close, right in front of my face, yeah, it was kind of mind-boggling. It was a great opportunity, though, because I didn’t really have to do that much. I was mostly just watching and learning from the experience. It was kind of an ideal way to start my career, because it was, more than anything, a tutorial. Did you get to hang out with him at all, or were you just observing from the sidelines? I talked to him a little bit from time to time. I mean, you don’t want to bother the guy. There’s a lot of people there. If everybody was trying to talk to him, it’d probably drive him crazy. We all kept our distance. I mean, he had a lot of work to do. Early on, you also worked with the likes of Keanu Reeves, Tom Cruise and Will Smith. Did any of those guys have an influence on you? On Chain Reaction, I didn’t really get to cross paths with Keanu. I guess the thing that strikes me about all of them is how nice they are. Very friendly people. You go into it expecting that they’ll kind of be closed off, like there’ll be a velvet rope around them or something. But they were
all very personable and went out of their way to make me feel like I was part of the team. Tom Cruise is like that particularly. I think he realises the value of everybody that’s around him, and that he can’t do it by himself. And he appreciates it. It’s not like I’m a huge part of Vanilla Sky, but one day, between takes, I was just sitting on a bench, and he came and sat next to me, and said, “You know, you’re doing such a great job, Mike.” I was like, “Gee, thanks. I really appreciate it.” I was kind of flabbergasted that he would even take the time or think to do that. Has there been anyone that you’ve been intimidated or starstruck by? I worked with Christopher Walken once, and I found that pretty electrifying. I mean, he’s just one of the all-time greats. He’s in the top 20 film actors, maybe of all time. Unfortunately it was on
Kangaroo Jack which may not be one of the finest films that I ever made, but screw it – I got to work him. Who cares? Hopefully I’ll get to work with him again on something a little more meaningful. You’ve worked with Michael Bay on Pearl Harbor and
Bad Boys II. Presumably that’s a completely different experience to a Jeff Nichols film? Yeah. I mean, with Michael, I kind of figured out how to deal with him, how to be comfortable around him. I think he appreciated my sense of humour. I found engaging him with a sense of humour really works well. I think maybe some people, they get hurt or offended by him because he can be very blunt and he can be very… He’s not an extremely sensitive human being. When you worked with Eminem on 8 Mile, he was at the height of his fame then. Was that like a circus, or very low-key? He was extremely humble. And I know that sounds like a cliché, but it really is true. He was so easy to work with. He really respected Curtis [ Hanson], the director, a great deal, and he seemed genuinely appreciative that all these actors had showed up to help tell this story with him. And he worked very hard. He took it very seriously. He didn’t just walk through it – which he could have done, or some people could probably imagine that would be the case. He had a lot of respect for everybody involved. And he wanted to do it right. I really admired him. In terms of breakout roles, did you get more attention after doing the movie of Bug? Honestly, there’s no one particular film that I can point to and say that’s when everything changed. I’m very proud of Bug as a film. I think it’s a quality picture. I don’t think millions and millions of people saw it. Honestly... I mean, 8 Mile was a movie that a lot of people saw. Bad Boys II was a movie a lot of people saw. Or being on television, when I was on Boardwalk. Being on television is a whole different level of… I don’t even know what the word is. Not “fame”. I don’t know. TV is a ritual. It’s something people engage in for years on a weekly basis. You really become ingratiated in people’s consciousness.
Revolutionary Road was a landmark role... I’m as big a fan of that book as anybody. I couldn’t believe I was getting the opportunity to play that part. Other actors would say… They’d come up to me and say, “I heard you got that part. You’re really lucky. Don’t mess it up.” Or something. It was like, “Yeah, yeah. Of course, I am very lucky. And I don’t want to mess it up.” It was a job I was very nervous about. And then I got on set and I was there with those incredible actors and an amazing director – Sam Mendes. And honestly, it became very comfortable, very fast. You got an Oscar nomination. Is that something that means a lot to you? Well, you know, yeah, they’re the Oscars. It’s an iconic thing. It’s part of our consciousness, for better or worse. I’ve been watching the Oscars since I was a kid. I mean, sometimes you stop and wonder – well, whose opinion is this, exactly? I really enjoyed getting that attention, but I was kind of perplexed that other people involved with the film weren’t getting it. I mean, namely Kate Winslet. I thought she was great in The Reader, but I thought she was phenomenal in
Revolutionary Road. There’s been quite a lot of controversy lately with the Oscars, and it sounds like they’re going to be making some changes so that the awards might reflect a more diverse group of opinions. Did the nomination lead to more scripts coming your way? No. It’s not like all of a sudden your phone starts ringing off the hook. Honestly, it’s not a lifechanging event. If you look back at the history of the Oscars and look at all the recipients over the years, I’m sure you’ll see some names that you don’t even recognise. It’s not an instant guarantee of anything. You mentioned Boardwalk earlier. Was it strange visiting a character again and again over five years? Yeah, it’s very fragmented. I mean, the show had a huge cast. There were a lot of different storylines. Everyone got a moment here and
boardwalk empire was like a hobby. at time i’d go weeks without showing up to work
there. It was kind of strange too because they kept adding characters to an already – I felt – crowded narrative. So, erm… Yeah, there would be times where I would go weeks without showing up to work. But when I did get the occasion to go to work, I enjoyed it. The writing was good. The sets were amazing. The photography. Just a very high quality show. But it didn’t take over my life or anything. It was just like a hobby or something. Last time you spoke to Total Film, you referred to acting as a service industry. Is that still how you feel about it? I help people tell stories. I mean, I don’t come up with the stories. If the storytellers didn’t exist, I wouldn’t have anything to do. I can’t just film myself standing there or staring into space. I have to have something to say and a story to tell. So I feel obligated to honour the vision of the people who I feel are truly the artists – the writers and the directors. So yeah, I guess I still feel that way. You served a huge vision on Man Of Steel. Was the scale an eye-opener for you? I’ve signed more photos of General Zod than any other photo, probably. But, you know, Zack [ Snyder] runs a very blue-collar set. It’s not glitzy or glamorous or anything. It’s hard work. Zack’s a very physical, down-to-earth guy. Making that movie, I never felt like I was making a “gajillion”-dollar movie. It just felt like I was working. And Zack works harder than pretty much anybody I’ve seen. I mean, the amount of preparation he puts into those movies. The amount he does in post. The guy, he’s a beast. You’re most renowned for playing intense guys on screen, but you have done comedies. Would you like to do more? I don’t really think about it. I mean, I like to laugh as much as anybody. But I can do that on my own time. I don’t read a lot of great scripts for comedy. I don’t get them. I am working on one right now. It’s a very innocent, sweet. And I’m enjoying it. It’s called Pottersville and I’m shooting it right now in upstate New York. It’s a small indie film. We don’t have a distributor yet. But it’s going pretty good. And where does Elvis & Nixon fit on the comedy/ drama scale? Hmm. Well, there’s definitely comedic elements to it. I didn’t play it for comedy. I spent a lot of time with Jerry Schilling, who is one of Elvis’ best friends. In my talks with Jerry, he expressed a concern that he felt a lot of times Elvis is depicted as a kind of… Flamboyant, kind of goofy person, and that people don’t really get in to the deeper parts of his psychology very often. They just play it on the surface. He was excited that I was playing Elvis because he thought that I might not do that. That I might have a different approach. And he encouraged me to explore that. So I didn’t play it silly. Just to wrap things up, is there one film in your back catalogue that didn’t get the reception you wish it had it done, or wasn’t seen as much as it deserved to be? There are a few, yeah. I made a film that was called Young Ones. I think they changed the name to England because you have a fairly popular situation comedy called The Young Ones. I really love that movie. Jake Paltrow directed it. I really thought it was special, and it just kind of got swept under the rug. I did a movie called The
Missing Person that I’m really fond of. It’s a unique creative take on the after-effects of 9/11 told in a kind of noir-ish detective story style. I think it’s out of sight. I did this movie called Grand
Theft Parsons that I actually thought was pretty decent. I’d say those three, probably. Does it bother you if a film doesn’t get picked up in the way you hope? It doesn’t keep me up at night. When you’re done, you’re done. What am I going to do about it, go stand on the street and hand out DVD copies? You do what you can. You make the thing. You promote it. And then you walk away. I mean, I’m too busy to sit around mulling over the past. I’ve got my hands full.
Midnight Special opens on 15 April.