Michael Shannon Picks His Favourite Criterion Films

Touches Of Class

The award-winning actor highlights performances he admires, including John Hurt in The Elephant Man, Peter Sellers in Being There and Catherine Keener in Being John Malkovich …

Michael Corbett Shannon (born August 7, 1974) is an American actor. He is a frequent collaborator with director Jeff Nichols, having appeared in Nichols’ films Shotgun Stories (2007), Take Shelter (2011), Mud (2012), Midnight Special, and Loving (both 2016). Shannon received two Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nominations, for Revolutionary Road (2008), and Nocturnal Animals (2016). He received Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for his role in 99 Homes (2014).

Shannon’s film debut was in Groundhog Day (1993). He appeared in 8 Mile (2002), Bad Boys II (2003), Bug (2006), Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007), Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009), The Iceman (2012), Premium Rush (2012), The Night Before (2015), Elvis & Nixon (2016), The Shape of Water (2017), Knives Out (2019), Bullet Train (2022), and Amsterdam (2022). He played General Zod in the DC Extended Universe films Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and reprised his role in The Flash (2023). Shannon made his Broadway debut in the 2012 play Grace.

In 2016, he starred as James Tyrone Jr. in the revival of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night (2016), earning a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play nomination. His television roles include a role as Nelson Van Alden in the HBO period drama series Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014) for which he was nominated for three Screen Actors Guild Awards. He starred in Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers (2021), and Showtime’s George & Tammy (2022).