Michael Shannon

 ( 1974 Births ) 

In 1993, Shannon made his film debut in Groundhog Day as a wedding groom. He had roles in Jesus' Son, Pearl Harbor, 8 Mile, Vanilla Sky, Kangaroo Jack, Bad Boys II, and a role in Grand Theft Parsons as hippie Larry Oster-Berg.

Shannon appeared in Let's Go to Prison in 2006, where he portrayed Lynard, the leader of a prison white supremacist group. He appeared in a production of Woyzeck in the West End in London, under the direction of Sarah Kane. In 2008, Shannon was featured in the off-Broadway production of Stephen Adly Guirgis's The Little Flower of East Orange, presented by LAByrinth Theater Company and The Public Theater, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman.

In 2007, Shannon began the first of his many collaborations with director, Jeff Nichols, when cast in the movie Shotgun Stories. Shannon was singled out for praise for his performance as the elder brother of three in a morality tale on the dangers of unresolved family enmities.

In 2008, he starred in the romantic drama film Revolutionary Road, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. His performance as the clinically insane son earned him universal acclaim, and he won the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 2010, he portrayed Doc Cross Williams in the film adaptation of Jonah Hex. Shannon played Federal Prohibition agent Nelson Van Alden in the HBO television show Boardwalk Empire, which began in 2010. In November of that year, he began starring in the one man play Mistakes Were Made at the Barrow Street Theatre in New York City, with performances having run through February 27, 2012. Shannon had performed the show in 2009 at A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago.

In 2011, Shannon starred in the drama film Take Shelter. He received rave reviews for his performance, and a Saturn Award for Best Actor. In 2012, he played a corrupt cop in the film Premium Rush, written and directed by David Koepp, and appeared on Broadway theatre along with Paul Rudd and Ed Asner in Grace written by Craig Wright. In 2013, he starred as legendary mob hitman Richard Kuklinski in The Iceman, which was distributed in May of that year. Later in 2013, Shannon portrayed General Zod, the main antagonist in Zack Snyder's film Man of Steel.

In 2015, he performed in the biographical drama Freeheld, and the independent drama 99 Homes, as housing agent Rick Carver, a role that earned him nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role. Shannon played Mr. Green in The Night Before in 2015.

Shannon starred in the 2016 psychological thriller film Nocturnal Animals, with Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal. His performance as a detective investigating a double homicide garnered him critical acclaim and a second nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Also in 2016, Shannon portrayed music icon Elvis Presley alongside Kevin Spacey as President Richard Nixon in Elvis & Nixon.

In 2017, Shannon played Col. Richard Strickland in Guillermo del Toro's romantic fantasy film The Shape of Water. The film premiered at the 74th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Golden Lion. The Shape of Water went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

Shannon played the lead role as Gary Noesner, head of the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit, in Waco on Paramount Network in 2018. He appeared in Long Way Back Home, an extended film clip for the song of the same name by Memphis country-punk Rock music band, Lucero, from its album Among The Ghosts. Lucero's frontman, Ben Nichols, is the older brother of frequent Shannon collaborator, Jeff Nichols. Shannon contributed spoken word vocals to Lucero's "Back To The Night", also from Among The Ghosts.

In 2019, Shannon joined an ensemble cast in Rian Johnson's mystery film Knives Out, portraying Walt Thrombey.

In 2021, Shannon played Napoleon Marconi in the Hulu miniseries Nine Perfect Strangers, based on the novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty.

Shannon reprised his role as General Zod in The Flash, released by Warner Bros. in 2023.

In April 2022, a follow-up series to Waco, titled American Tragedies: Waco – The Trials was announced and was set to premiere on Paramount+ in 2023. The miniseries centered on the fallout from the Waco siege as well as the emerging patriot movement. In February 2023, the series was retitled Waco: The Aftermath and would instead premiere on Showtime on April 16, 2023. Shannon reprised his lead role as Gary Noesner and also served as an executive producer for the show.

Shannon married actress Kate Arrington towards the end of 2017, after they had dated since 2002. They have two daughters; Sylvia, born in 2008 and Marion in 2011. They live in New York.

• List of actors with Academy Award nominations

• Corporal (band website)