From director Scott Teems, the dramatic thriller The Quarry follows a drifter (Shea Whigham) who, after killing a traveling preacher, decides to take his place at the local church, where he catches the attention of the small town police chief (Michael Shannon). Unsure what to make of The Man, Chief Moore is equal parts curious and suspicious, suspecting foul play.

During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, actor Michael Shannon talked about his ongoing career history working with co-star Shea Whigham, what brought him to The Quarry, how he approached this character, developing their adversarial dynamic, and the vibe on set. He also talked about how happy he was about the success of Knives Out, and what he looks for in a project.

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Image via Lionsgate

Collider: You’ve worked with Shea Whigham a few times now. Have any of those times that you guys have worked together been projects that you’ve intentionally sought out together, or has it just turned out that you’ve happened to work together this many times?

MICHAEL SHANNON: The first time that I worked with Shea was on Tigerland, and that was just a coincidence. We were both just starting out then, trying to book a job, and we both felt very lucky to get in on that. But since then, I went to him for Take Shelter and said how much I’d love for him to play that part, and he did it. And then, with The Quarry, I thought it would be such an amazing part for Shea that we had to make it a reality, and he just nailed it.

What is it that you like about working with him? What does he bring to scenes, as an actor, that makes you want to keep doing projects with him?

SHANNON: There are qualities that a lot of the artists I enjoy working with share. His sense of rigor, how much he puts into it, how much he thinks about it, and his appreciation for all of the different things that can happen or that it can be. He’s just in love with acting. This guy, he gets so excited about it, and it’s contagious. He loves being there and he’s just so grateful for it. We just get along real easy. We’ll shoot all day, and then go have dinner at night in the hotel lobby, drinking wine out of plastic cups. We’re just buddies.

What did you enjoy, specifically, about your experience with working with him on this film and playing these two characters, opposite each other? It’s such an interesting dynamic because they’re continually trying to feel each other out without actually telling each other that. How was that to explore together?

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Image via Lionsgate

SHANNON: Yeah. It’s funny ‘cause we both know what the real story is, so we’re sitting there, knowing what’s going on, and yet we’re playing these people that don’t really know, or at least I don’t. It’s an interesting challenge, but you always have that dilemma in acting. How do you tell a story that you already know the ending to? It’s fun to try to develop a relationship between two people that are not revealing very much about themselves, and yet still are fascinated by one another. It’s just a really fun dynamic to explore.

Since you have worked with him a number of times, throughout your careers, has your working relationship changed, over the years as, as your careers and your crafts have grown and evolved?

SHANNON: I don’t know. I feel like he’s always been pretty top notch, from the get go. If anything, we’re changing as people. When I met Shea, I don’t think he had any kids. Now, he has four of them. That’s a pretty big difference. Your relationship to what you do changes. When you’re just footloose and fancy free, you’ll go anywhere and do anything anybody tells you to. But then, as you have a family and try to make a life for yourself, the decisions get more complicated. We spent a lot of time talking through stuff like that together.

What was it that brought you to this project, initially? Was it a script that came your way, or did the director reach out to you about it?

SHANNON: It was the script. Scott [Teems] sent me the script. He knows (writer) Jeff Nichols a little bit, and Jeff gave him the intro. The first movie I made of Jeff’s, Shotgun Stories, a fellow on that movie, Barlow Jacobs, was in Scott’s movie, That Evening Sun. So, Barlow vouched for him and said he really liked working with him, and it just went from there. I really liked the story. I love stories about responsibility, and personal responsibility. They’re always relevant. It’s always good to confirm people with that.

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Image via Lionsgate

Was this a character that you felt you needed to do any type of research for, or was he a guy that you felt like you really had a feel for?

SHANNON: I don’t think Chief is an incredible forensic mind, by any stretch of the imagination. He just straps on his pistol and roams around town, and makes sure everybody minds their Ps and Qs. I don’t think he’s ever been confronted with anything this complex before. So, no, I didn’t do a tremendous amount of research on it. I read the book that it’s originally based on, which is quite different. It’s set in South Africa and Chief in the book is even more tight-lipped then he is in the film. He’s a real enigma. But I’m from the South and I’ve met guys like this, so I just let my imagination do the rest.

This is also a pretty serious film with pretty serious characters. What was the vibe like, on set? Because you guys have known each other for some time, does that keep things lighter?

SHANNON: We enjoy each other’s company. Neither one of us are real chatty Cathys. We like to conserve our energy. We don’t sit around, needlessly cracking jokes, or anything, but we do make each other laugh and enjoy each other’s company. It was small crew. It wasn’t a lot of people. It was pretty low key.

Knives Out was something of a surprise his last year, as it wasn’t really a film that anyone was expecting, but everybody who saw it had a lot of fun with it. What was it like to see that film’s success? Was that something that was also a surprise to you?

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Image via Lionsgate

SHANNON: I just so happy for (director) Rian [Johnson]. I’m just really impressed with him. He’s just a real smart fellow. Was it a surprise? I don’t know. I’m not saying this because I was in it, but it did have a pretty interesting cast. There was bound to be somebody in that cast that you were gonna wanna go see. Whether it was the fellow playing James Bond, or the fellow playing Captain America, or Don Johnson, or whatever, there was something for everybody. And it’s the kind of movie that they don’t really make much anymore. If they do, it’s Kenneth Branagh remaking an Agatha Christie movie that’s already been made. For somebody to construct one of these from whole cloth is cause for a little bit of excitement.

Could you ever have imagined, making that movie, that there would end up being a sequel that was greenlit for that, and have you tried, at all, to come up with ways to make sure your character could return, in some way?

SHANNON: No, I don’t expect we’re gonna see Walt again. It is interesting, the whole notion of a sequel to it. I’m happy for Daniel [Craig]. I think he had a lot of fun with the part. I’d be first in line to go see it, if it comes out. It’s hard to say, nowadays.

At this point in your life and career, what do you look for in a project and what gets you excited about the work? Do you have your own personal wishlist for things, or do you always just start with what’s in the script?

SHANNON: It’s about the story. What is the story gonna make people think about? Where is it gonna leave people’s thoughts? And the people that are making it have a lot to do with it. The longer you do this, you get to a point where you just wanna know when you’re gonna work, that you’re gonna enjoy being there, you’re gonna enjoy the company that you’re keeping, and you’re gonna be challenged by whoever you’re around, to push yourself. So, it’s really about the story and the people that I collaborate with.

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Image via Lionsgate

Would you also like to do some more comedy?

SHANNON: It certainly seems like comedy could come in handy right now, that’s for sure. I don’t know. For me, it’s all a big circle. Drama and comedy can exist simultaneously, and oftentimes they do. It’s funny, even in a movie like The Quarry, there are moments of humor. Chief says a lot of what he considers to be funny things. One of his favorite things to do is tell dumb jokes. You can find comedy anywhere. More than anything, I’m just trying to see if there’s something to do that doesn’t feel like it’s been done, a million times before.

The Quarry is available on-demand.