Michael Shannon is a national treasure. I don’t know if he’ll get an Oscar nomination for his supporting turn in Nocturnal Animals (I have trouble believing that Academy members will make it past the opening credits), but he deserves it. He’s also been fairly ubiquitous in 2016 with roles in Complete Unknown, Frank & Lola, Midnight Special, Wolves, Poor Boy, Elvis & Nixon, Loving, and Salt and Fire. He also had a minor cameo in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as Zod’s corpse.

When it comes to the DC movies, Shannon tells Fandango that he didn’t sign on because he was looking for a franchise (and as you can see from his assembly of 2016 films, he prefers more independent fare). He did Man of Steel because it was topical:

“When I did Man of Steel I thought the story was interesting; I thought it was relevant. It was about a civilization that destroys the planet they live on and goes looking for another one. Ring any bells? That’s why I did it. I didn’t do it because I felt I needed a big comic book franchise – I honestly thought it was a beautiful story.”

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Image via Warner Bros.

However, he didn’t feel quite as fondly about Batman v Superman

Shannon: You’re gonna get me in trouble, man! People ask me about this all the time. Okay, I’ll tell you the god’s honest truth. Zack [Snyder] is gonna kill me for this – he’s gonna kill me. I watched it once and I fell asleep.

 

Fandango: You fell asleep?!

 

Shannon: I know, I know... I was on an international flight and I was tired.

 

Fandango: So we’ll blame the international flight for that. Also, c’mon – you can’t watch a movie like Batman v Superman on an airplane on that tiny screen.

 

Shannon: No, you’re right. I shouldn’t have been watching it on a plane. But I never go to the movies anymore! I don’t have time to see anything. I used to go to the movies all the time when I was 20 years old and wasn’t working 10 days a week.

I hope Shannon was at least awake for the part where Batman and Superman bond because their mothers happen to share the same first name.

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Image via Warner Bros.
man-of-steel-michael-shannon
Image via Warner Bros.

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