From writer/director Matthew Ross, the psychosexual noir thriller Frank & Lola explores themes of love and sex, obsession and betrayal, and revenge and redemption. When up-and-coming chef Frank (Michael Shannon) meets aspiring fashion designer Lola (Imogen Poots), they fall hard and fast for one another, until Lola’s past becomes part of their present and jealousy pushes them to the edge of self-destruction.

During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, actor Michael Shannon talked about how Frank & Lola first came to him about eight years ago, why the film appealed to him, how the script didn’t really change over the years, getting into the mind-set of a chef, and finding a way to make things feel less weird when you’re in front of the camera. He also talked about how he got involved with The Shape of Water and what it was like to work with director Guillermo del Toro, as well as why he wanted to be a part of Horse Soldiers.

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Image via Paladin Films

Collider: How did this film come to you?

MICHAEL SHANNON: I was out in Los Angeles for the Oscars, the year I was nominated for Revolutionary Road. While I was there, my agent said there was a young man who wanted to meet with me about a project called Frank & Lola. So, Matt Ross came to my hotel and we talked about it, but that was awhile ago. That was about eight years ago. He had to really go through a lot to get the movie together. I just always am very touched when people struggle like that and refuse to let go of their dreams.

When you have a project like that, where nothing comes of it and years go by, and then another actor gets cast as Frank before a scheduling conflict made that fall apart, were you surprised that it came back to you, or had you been drawn to the character and story enough that you were happy to have it come back your way?

SHANNON: I assumed it wasn’t going to happen, to be honest, because several years went by. And then, when I got the call that they were putting it together, I was pretty up for doing it. It’s a great romantic story, and I was looking to do something like that.

Was it still pretty much the same script that you had first read, or had it changed in the time since you first read it?

SHANNON: It hadn’t changed a lot, no. Matt, before we ever met, had already worked on the script for a few years. This project, for him, is the culmination of a decade of work. It didn’t need to change. It changed in the editing of the movie, which is, in and of itself, a writing process. But in terms of what we shot, it was pretty much the same script. The story is very authentic, very deeply felt and very personal. I’m not saying that Matt is Frank, but he drew on a lot of life experience and observations.

Matt Ross has said that he had a friend named Frank, who he named the character after, and he made the character a chef because his friend is a chef who signed on as the chef consultant and trained you for the role. What did you learn from that, that helped you in playing and understanding this guy, as a character?

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Image via Paladin Films

SHANNON: There’s a real ego thing involved with being a chef. It’s funny, when a chef is showing you how to do something, usually no matter what you do, you’re doing it wrong ‘cause they’re the only ones who really know how to do it right. It’s a very demanding profession, and it’s an obsession. You read about chefs where everything they do is for their restaurant. They’re out shopping for the restaurant, they’re working on recipes, they’re preparing food, and they’re there for 18 hours a day. That obsession and the romantic obsession that Frank experiences are a double whammy.

It’s interesting to watch as Frank becomes much more successful in his obsession with food, while he simultaneously becomes much less successful in his obsession with his romantic life.

SHANNON: Right. It’s very volatile. I think most people, in life, don’t get to have everything they want at the same time. Part of your life will be going well, or you’ll be getting something that you want, and then, there’s some hole or emptiness somewhere else. But that’s really about taking responsibility for yourself, which I think Frank understands, by the end of the movie.

This film is dark, violent and sexual. What were the biggest challenges for you, in finding the truth that you look for in a story and character?

SHANNON: The way I look at it is that it’s always weird to walk in front of a camera and say the lines that somebody wrote down somewhere else. It never stops being weird. But, there’s also a lot of common sense involved. It’s about using your experience of the world and observations you’ve made, and having a certain awareness of the other people you’re working with and what they need. It can make it less weird, if you do that.

(Spoilers) Lola hasn’t really processed the trauma that she’s experienced, which really affects the dynamic between her and Frank. Do you think that there’s any way these two people could have worked their shit out and succeeded in their relationship with each other, or was it just doomed for them?

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Image via Paladin Films

SHANNON: In order for any relationship to work, you have to be willing to make some sacrifices and you have to be willing to accept the other person, warts and all. Maybe Frank is just not in the place where he can do that on a consistent basis. He certainly comes to that conclusion, at the end of the movie. Frank seems to have an emptiness to him that’s frightening to contemplate, and people usually try to fill that hole with other people.

What attracted you to The Shape of Water?

SHANNON: I just met with (director) Guillermo del Toro out in L.A., and he told me he’d written the script with me and some other people in mind, that it was his dream project, and that he couldn’t think of anything else, except for doing that movie. That was before I’d even read it, but he was very convincing, personally. I respect him, as an artist, so I assumed that it wasn’t going to be terrible. And then, I got the script and it was really exciting. It was a very hard shoot. We were all exhausted. But, I think we might have something really interesting.

Guillermo del Toro is so passionate about filmmaking and it’s so infectious to hear him talk about his love for it. What was it like to work with him?

SHANNON: It’s unfathomable, how he does it. He would be the first to admit that he’s not in the greatest shape, physically, but that guy can go and go and go. I think he’s really riding on that sense of passion for films, and particularly the film he’s making at that particular time. I feel that way about all of the great directors I’ve worked with. [Martin] Scorsese was like that. He could shoot for 20 hours straight without blinking an eye. I think they’re just that passionate about what they’re doing.

Do you know what you’re going to shoot next?

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Image via Paladin Films

SHANNON: I think the next thing I’m doing is a movie called Horse Soldiers, with Chris Hemsworth. And then, I’m doing The Current War. And then, I’m doing a movie called Buck. And then, I’m doing the Waco mini-series.

What are you looking forward to getting to explore with Horse Soldiers?

SHANNON: These guys were incredible, what they did. It was one of the first companies to go into Afghanistan after 9/11, and they had no idea what they were getting into. They didn’t even really know how to function over there. They were trying to align themselves with the local warlords to do battle against the Taliban. The amount of courage and intelligence it took for them to pull off this mission is just very exciting.

Frank & Lola is in theaters and On-Demand on December 9th.

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Image via Paladin Films
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