Michael Shannon

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Michael Shannon is an American stage, film, and television actor. His best known performances are as John Givings in Revolutionary Road and Nelson Van Adden in Boardwalk Empire.

Born in Kentucky to a single mother, he got his first work as an actor on the Chicago stage, at various times working for such theatre companies as Steppenwolf, The Next Lab and the Red Orchid Theatre. He eventually started to get small parts in Hollywood movies, too, notably the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced films such as Bad Boys 2, Pearl Harbor, and Kangaroo Jack. This recogition (along with his Academy Award nomination for Revolutionary Road) has led to him recieving larger and more acclaimed roles in (mostly independent) films, such as Bug, The Runaways, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Bad Lieutenant Port of Call New Orleans, Shotgun Stories, and Take Shelter.

He is best known for his virtuoso ability to play repressed, unstable, and otherwise crazed characters. He has also been compared to Christopher Walken for his ability to completely steal a movie simply by showing up. He will soon be seen playing General Zod in the upcoming Superman reboot Man of Steel and the legendary Career Killer Richard Kuklinski in The Iceman.

Despite the large number of villainous roles to his name, Shannon is very much known to be a Nice Guy who loves his daughter and has a great sense of humor.


His Notable Films:

Tropes used in Michael Shannon include:

"Well, there seems to be something inherently intense about my face - I guess my bone structure. Even if I'm just sitting in a totally neutral state, not thinking about anything in particular, that [intensity] is projected on my face. I have wondered over the years why that is. A friend of mine once said it looks like I have psychic baggage, which I guess is true to a certain extent - although I have a hard time imagining anybody who doesn't. I guess it just comes through maybe more clearly on my face than other people's faces. I don't know."

  • Younger Than They Look: He's always looked quite a few years older, especially when compared to co-stars who are younger. Though on the plus side, he doesn't seem to have aged much in the last ten years or so.