Michael Shannon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Michael Shannon
Shannon in 2019
Born	Michael Corbett Shannon (1974-08-07) August 7, 1974 (age 50) Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Occupation	Actor producer
Years active	1992–present
Spouse(s)	Kate Arrington ​ (m. 2017)​
Children	2
Relatives	Raymond Corbett Shannon (paternal grandfather)
Awards	Full list

Michael Corbett Shannon (born August 7, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for his many roles in movies and TV shows. Michael Shannon has been nominated for two Academy Awards for his acting in Revolutionary Road (2008) and Nocturnal Animals (2016). He also received nominations for a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe Award for his role in 99 Homes (2014).

Shannon's first movie was Groundhog Day in 1993. He has also appeared in films like Pearl Harbor (2001), Kangaroo Jack (2003), The Shape of Water (2017), Knives Out (2019), and Bullet Train (2022). He often works with director Jeff Nichols, appearing in all of Nichols' films, including Take Shelter (2011) and Mud (2012). He played General Zod in the DC Extended Universe movies Man of Steel (2013) and The Flash (2023).

Michael Shannon has also acted on Broadway, which is a famous theater district in New York City. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his role in Long Day's Journey into Night (2016). On television, he played Nelson Van Alden in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014), winning two Screen Actors Guild Awards for this role. He also starred in Nine Perfect Strangers (2021) and George & Tammy (2022), for which he received an Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

Early Life and Education

Michael Shannon was born on August 7, 1974, in Lexington, Kentucky. His father, Donald Sutherlin Shannon, was a professor, and his mother, Geraldine Hine, was a lawyer. His grandfather, Raymond Corbett Shannon, was a well-known scientist who studied insects.

After his parents separated, Michael spent time living with his mother in Lexington and with his father in Chicago, Illinois. He attended New Trier High School and Henry Clay High School. While in Lexington, he enjoyed summer camp at the Lexington Children's Theatre and played bass in his first band, The Jehovah Suspects. He later returned to Chicago for his senior year of high school.

Acting Career Highlights

Michael Shannon's first screen appearance was in a music video for the song "House of Pain," where he played a teenager. He started his stage career in Chicago, helping to create A Red Orchid Theatre. He also worked with other theater groups like the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. He became well-known for his roles in plays like Bug and Killer Joe.

Early Film and TV Roles

In 1993, Shannon made his movie debut in Groundhog Day. He then appeared in many other films, including Pearl Harbor (2001), 8 Mile (2002), and Kangaroo Jack (2003). In 2006, he was in Let's Go to Prison.

Working with Director Jeff Nichols

In 2007, Michael Shannon began working with director Jeff Nichols. Their first movie together was Shotgun Stories. Shannon received praise for his performance in this film. They have continued to work together on many projects, including Take Shelter (2011), Mud (2012), and Midnight Special (2016).

Breakthrough Roles and Awards

In 2008, Shannon starred in the movie Revolutionary Road with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. His acting in this film earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 2010, he joined the cast of the HBO TV series Boardwalk Empire, playing Federal Prohibition agent Nelson Van Alden. This role brought him two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Shannon (far right) with Robert Davi and Stephen Dorff at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival

In 2011, Shannon starred in the drama film Take Shelter, receiving excellent reviews and a Saturn Award for Best Actor. In 2013, he played a famous character named Richard Kuklinski in the movie The Iceman. Later that year, he played General Zod in the superhero film Man of Steel.

In 2015, he was in 99 Homes, playing a housing agent. This role earned him nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Recent Projects

In 2016, Shannon starred in the movie Nocturnal Animals, which earned him another Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He also played music legend Elvis Presley in Elvis & Nixon.

In 2017, Shannon played Colonel Richard Strickland in Guillermo del Toro's movie The Shape of Water. This film won the top prize at the 74th Venice International Film Festival and later won the Oscar for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

In 2018, Shannon played Gary Noesner, a real-life FBI negotiator, in the miniseries Waco. In 2019, he joined the cast of the mystery film Knives Out. In 2021, he appeared in the Hulu miniseries Nine Perfect Strangers.

In 2023, he returned as General Zod in The Flash. He also reprised his role as Gary Noesner in Waco: The Aftermath, a follow-up series to Waco.

Personal Life

In 2002, Michael Shannon started an indie rock band called Corporal with Ray Rizzo and Rob Beitzel. He sings and writes songs for the band. They released their first album in 2010.

Michael Shannon married actress Kate Arrington in late 2017. They have two daughters, Sylvia (born in 2008) and Marion (born in 2014). The family lives in New York.

Acting Credits

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Groundhog Day	Fred
1996	Chain Reaction	D.C. Flower Delivery Man	Credited as "Mike Shannon"
1997	Chicago Cab	Crack Head
1999	Jesus' Son	Dundun
	The Ride	Jimmy
2000	The Photographer	Maurice
	Tigerland	Sergeant Filmore
	Cecil B. Demented	Petie
	Mullitt	Phil Kunz	Short film
2001	Pearl Harbor	Lt. Gooz Wood
	New Port South	John Stanton
	Vanilla Sky	Aaron
2002	High Crimes	Troy Abbott
	8 Mile	Greg Buehl
2003	Kangaroo Jack	Frankie Lombardo
	Bad Boys II	Floyd Poteet
	Grand Theft Parsons	Larry Oster-Berg
2004	Water	Bobby Matherson
	Criminal	Gene
	Dead Birds	Clyde
	Zamboni Man	Walt, Zamboni Man	Short film
	The Woodsman	Rosen
2006	Bug	Peter Evans
	World Trade Center	Dave Karnes
	Let's Go to Prison	Lynard
	Marvelous	John
2007	Shotgun Stories	Son Hayes
	Blackbird	Murl
	Lucky You	Ray Zumbro
	Before the Devil Knows You're Dead	Dex
2008	Revolutionary Road	John Givings Jr.
2009	The Missing Person	John Rosow
	Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans	Mundt
	The Greatest	Jordan Walker
	My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?	Brad McCullum
2010	The Runaways	Kim Fowley
	Herbert White	Herbert White	Short film
	13	Henry
	Jonah Hex	Dr. Cross Williams
2011	Take Shelter	Curtis LaForche
	Return	Mike
	The Broken Tower	Emile Opffer
	Machine Gun Preacher	Donnie
2012	Mud	Uncle Galen
	Premium Rush	Bobby Monday
	The Iceman	Richard Kuklinski
2013	Man of Steel	General Zod
	The Harvest	Richard Young
2014	Young Ones	Ernest Holm
	They Came Together	Spike	Cameo
	She's Funny That Way	Policeman Macy's	Cameo
	99 Homes	Rick Carver
2015	Freeheld	Dane Wells
	The Night Before	Mr. Green
2016	Complete Unknown	Tom
	Frank & Lola	Frank Reilly
	Midnight Special	Roy Tomlin
	Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice	General Zod	Credit only
	Wolves	Lee Keller
	Poor Boy	Blayde Griggs
	Elvis & Nixon	Elvis Presley	Also executive producer
	Loving	Grey Villet
	Salt and Fire	Matt Riley
	Nocturnal Animals	Det. Bobby Andes
2017	The Shape of Water	Col. Richard Strickland
	The Current War	George Westinghouse
	Pottersville	Maynard Greiger
2018	12 Strong	CWO. Hal Spencer
	Fahrenheit 451	Captain Beatty
	What They Had	Nicky Everhardt	Also executive producer
	State Like Sleep	Edward
2019	Knives Out	Walt Thrombey
2020	The Quarry	Chief Moore	Also executive producer
	Echo Boomers	Mel Donnelly
2021	Heart of Champions	Jack Murphy	Also producer
2022	Night's End	Isaac Dees
	Abandoned	Renner
	Bullet Train	White Death
	Amsterdam	Henry Norcross
	A Little White Lie	Shriver
2023	Eric Larue	N/A	Director
	The Flash	General Zod
	The Bikeriders	Zipco
2024	A Different Man	Himself	Cameo
	The End	Father
2025	Nuremberg	Robert H. Jackson	Post-production
TBA	Mr. Irrelevant	Bill Parcells	Filming

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Overexposed	Young Man	Television film
	Angel Street	Patrick Mulligan	Television film
1998, 1999	Early Edition	Merle / Mr. Andrews	2 episodes
1999	Turks	Man #1	Episode: "Pilot"
2005	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Avery Shaw	Episode: "Quarry"
2009	Delocated	Mark	Episode: "Sick of It!"
2010–2014	Boardwalk Empire	Nelson Van Alden/George Mueller	35 episodes
2017–2020	At Home with Amy Sedaris	Various	3 episodes
2018	Waco	Gary Noesner	6 episodes; also executive producer
	The Little Drummer Girl	Martin Kurtz	6 episodes
	Our Cartoon President	Narrator (voice)	Episode: "Election Special 2018"
	Room 104	Nathan	Episode: "Swipe Right"
2021	Nine Perfect Strangers	Napoleon Marconi	8 episodes
2022	Little Demon	Unshaven Man (voice)	6 episodes
2022–2023	George & Tammy	George Jones	6 episodes
2023	Waco: The Aftermath	Gary Noesner	5 episodes; also executive producer
0TBA	Death by Lightning	James A. Garfield	Upcoming miniseries

Theater

Awards and Recognition

The Chicago City Council honored Michael Shannon by declaring August 7, 2023, as "National Michael Shannon Day" in Chicago.

See also

In Spanish: Michael Shannon para niños

• List of actors with Academy Award nominations