Conversations with Michael Shannon (2016)

Career Q&A with Michael Shannon on January 8, 2016. Moderated by Jenelle Riley, Variety.

Academy® Award nominee Michael Shannon is making his mark working with many of the industry's most honored talents and treading the boards in the world's most respected theatres.

With over forty roles in film, Shannon's credits include Siofra Campbell's thriller THE PRICE, Werner Herzog's SALT AND FIRE, Matthew M. Ross' FRANK & LOLA, Liza Johnson's ELVIS & NIXON, Peter Sollett's FREEHELD,  Jeff Nichols' MIDNIGHT SPECIAL and TAKE SHELTER,  John McNaughton's THE HARVEST, Jake Paltrow's THE YOUNG ONES, Zack Snyder's MAN OF STEEL, Ariel Vromen's THE ICEMAN, David Koepp's PREMIUM RUSH, Liza Johnson's RETURN Marc Forster's MACHINE GUN PREACHER, Floria Sigismondi's THE RUNAWAYS, Werner Herzog's MY SON, MY SON, WHAT HAVE YE DONE and BAD LIEUTENANT, Sydney Lumet's BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD, Oliver Stone's WORLD TRADE CENTER, William Friedkin's BUG, Curtis Hanson's LUCKY YOU, Michael Bay's BAD BOYS II, Curtis Hanson's 8 MILE, David McNally's KANGAROO JACK, Cameron Crowe's VANILLA SKY, Michael Bay's PEARL HARBOR, John Waters' CECIL B. DEMENTED, Noah Buschel's THE MISSING PERSON and Shana Feste's THE GREATEST, Ramin Bahrani's 99 HOMES, and Sam Mendes' REVOLUNTIONARY ROAD.

For all his roles on screen, Shannon maintains a connection to theatre. In 2012, Shannon appeared opposite Paul Rudd, Ed Asner, and Kate Arrington in “Grace” at the Cort Theatre. For his portrayal of 'Sam,' a distrustful and lonely computer genius who had recently lost his fiancé in a car accident, Shannon was nominated for a 2013 Distinguished Performance Drama League Award. In 2010, he led Craig Wright's off-Broadway play, “Mistakes Were Made,” at the Barrow Street Theater. Directed by Dexter Bullard, Shannon portrays 'Felix Artifex,' a small time theatre producer, who gets in way over his fast-talking head when he takes on an epic about the French Revolution. The play received its world premiere at A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago in 2009 with the same cast and director. The critically acclaimed production garnered numerous accolades for Shannon, including an Outstanding Lead Actor Lortel Award nomination, an Outstanding Actor in a Play Drama Desk Award nomination, an Outstanding Solo Performance Outer Critics Award nomination, and a Distinguished Performance Drama League Award nomination.

Additional theatre credits include “Uncle Vanya” (Soho Rep Theatre), “Our Town” (Barrow Street Theatre), “Lady” (Rattlestick Theatre), “The Metal Children” (Vineyard Theatre), “The Little Flower of East Orange” (Public Theatre), “The Pillowman” (Steppenwolf Theatre), “Bug” (Barrow Street Theatre, Red Orchid Theatre and Gate Theatre), “Man From Nebraska” (Steppenwolf Theatre), “Mr. Kolpert” (Red Orchid Theatre), Killer Joe (SoHo Playhouse, Next Lab Theatre and Vaudeville Theatre), The Idiot (Lookingglass Theatre), The Killer (Red Orchid Theatre), and Woyzeck (Gate Theatre).

On television, Shannon's credits include Martin Scorsese's HBO series, “Boardwalk Empire,” co-starring Steve Buscemi and Kelly Macdonald. Based on Nelson Johnson's book of the same name, the series centers on an Atlantic City liquor distribution ring at the onset of Prohibition. In the series, Shannon portrayed 'Nelson Van Alden,' a dedicated senior agent with the Treasury Department who has a strong interest in controlling bootlegging.

Michael Shannon grew up in Lexington, Kentucky and began his professional stage career in Chicago, Illinois.