Michael Shannon
Acting • Born 1974-08-07
Biography
Michael Corbett Shannon (born August 7, 1974) is an American actor, producer, musician, and theatre director. He has been nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his roles in the Sam Mendes period drama Revolutionary Road (2008) and the Tom Ford psychological thriller Nocturnal Animals (2016). He earned Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for his role in 99 Homes (2014), and a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for the Broadway revival of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night (2016). Shannon made his film debut in 1993 with Groundhog Day and received widespread attention for his performance in 8 Mile (2002). He is known for his on-screen versatility, performing in both comedies and dramas such as Pearl Harbor (2001), Bad Boys II (2003), Bug (2006), Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007), Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009), The Iceman (2012), Premium Rush (2012), The Night Before (2015), The Shape of Water (2017) and Knives Out (2019). He played Superman's Kryptonian adversary General Zod in Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), and is set to reprise the role in The Flash (2022). Shannon is a frequent collaborator of Jeff Nichols, appearing in all of his films: Shotgun Stories (2007), Take Shelter (2011), Mud (2012), Midnight Special, and Loving (both 2016). He is also known for his role as Nelson Van Alden in the HBO period drama series Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014), for which he was nominated for three Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2021, he had a main role in the Hulu drama miniseries Nine Perfect Strangers.
Filmography
134 credits
8 Mile
Movie • 2002
Greg Buehl
Groundhog Day
Movie • 1993
Fred
Pearl Harbor
Movie • 2001
Gooz Wood
World Trade Center
Movie • 2006
Dave Karnes
Vanilla Sky
Movie • 2001
Aaron
Revolutionary Road
Movie • 2008
John Givings
Jonah Hex
Movie • 2010
Doc Cross Williams
Abandoned
Movie • 2022
Renner
High Crimes
Movie • 2002
Troy Abbott
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans
Movie • 2009
Mundt
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Movie • 2007
Dex
McCarthy
Movie
Joseph McCarthy
Bad Boys II
Movie • 2003
Floyd Poteet
Jesus' Son
Movie • 2000
Dundun
Shotgun Stories
Movie • 2007
Son Hayes
Let's Go to Prison
Movie • 2006
Lynard
The Runaways
Movie • 2010
Kim Fowley
Bug
Movie • 2007
Peter Evans
The Woodsman
Movie • 2004
Rosen
The Missing Person
Movie • 2009
John Rosow
The End
Movie • 2024
Father
The Final Shot: A Farewell to Boardwalk Empire
Movie • 2014
Self
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
Movie • 2010
Brad McCullum
13
Movie • 2010
Henry
The Flash
Movie • 2023
General Zod
Machine Gun Preacher
Movie • 2011
Donnie
Take Shelter
Movie • 2011
Curtis LaForche
Man of Steel
Movie • 2013
General Zod
Premium Rush
Movie • 2012
Bobby Monday
The Iceman
Movie • 2012
Richard Kuklinski
Dead Birds
Movie • 2005
Clyde
Return
Movie • 2011
Mike
The Broken Tower
Movie • 2012
Emile
Night's End
Movie • 2022
Isaac Dees
Mud
Movie • 2013
Galen
Chicago Cab
Movie • 1998
Crack Head
They Came Together
Movie • 2014
Spike
The Photographer
Movie • 2000
Maurice
Blackbird
Movie • 2007
Murl
Young Ones
Movie • 2014
Ernest Holm
Making The Flash: Worlds Collide
Movie • 2023
Self - 'General Zod'
Mullitt
Movie • 2000
Phil Kunz
The Harvest
Movie • 2015
Richard
Midnight Special
Movie • 2016
Roy Tomlin
Choose You
Movie • 2013
Avicii
Dead Guy
Movie
Cecil B. Demented
Movie • 2000
Petie
Herbert White
Movie • 2010
Herbert White
99 Homes
Movie • 2015
Rick Carver
The Bikeriders
Movie • 2024
Zipco
Nuremberg
Movie • 2025
Justice Robert H. Jackson
Grand Theft Parsons
Movie • 2004
Larry Oster-Berg
Kangaroo Jack
Movie • 2003
Frankie Lombardo
Freeheld
Movie • 2015
Dane Wells
Elvis & Nixon
Movie • 2016
Elvis Presley
90 Years of the Music Box Theatre
Movie • 2019
Self
A Different Man
Movie • 2024
Michael Shannon
The Young King
Movie
Mick
Frank & Lola
Movie • 2016
Frank Reilly
She's Funny That Way
Movie • 2015
Policeman Macy's
State Like Sleep
Movie • 2019
Edward
Nocturnal Animals
Movie • 2016
Bobby Andes
Salt and Fire
Movie • 2016
Matt Riley
Chain Reaction
Movie • 1996
D.C. Flower Delivery Man
The Night Before
Movie • 2015
Mr. Green
Loving
Movie • 2016
Grey Villet
Poor Boy
Movie • 2018
Blayde Griggs
Complete Unknown
Movie • 2016
Tom Brayton
Wolves
Movie • 2016
Lee Keller
Criminal
Movie • 2004
Gene
The Shape of Water
Movie • 2017
Richard Strickland
The Greatest
Movie • 2009
Jordan Walker
Lucky You
Movie • 2007
Ray Zumbro
New Port South
Movie • 2001
Stanton
Tigerland
Movie • 2000
Sgt. Filmore
Overexposed
Movie • 1992
Young Man
The Ride
Movie • 1997
Jimmy
Zamboni Man
Movie • 2004
Walt
Marvelous
Movie • 2008
John
Happy Hour
Movie • 2012
Just Mike
Water
Movie • 2004
Bobby Matherson
Pottersville
Movie • 2017
Maynard Greiger
The Current War
Movie • 2018
George Westinghouse
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Movie • 2016
Zod
12 Strong
Movie • 2018
Hal Spencer
What They Had
Movie • 2018
Nick
Fahrenheit 451
Movie • 2018
Captain Beatty
Bob Dylan - Trouble No More
Movie • 2017
Self
Friedkin Uncut
Movie • 2018
Self
Long Way Back Home
Movie • 2018
Stanton
Knives Out
Movie • 2019
Walt Thrombey
Echo Boomers
Movie • 2020
Mel Donnelly
The Quarry
Movie • 2020
Chief Moore
Ballad of a Righteous Merchant
Movie • 2017
Self
The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts
Movie • 2019
Don McGahn
Heart of Champions
Movie • 2021
Jack Murphy
13 Scarier Movie Moments
Movie • 2009
Self
A Little White Lie
Movie • 2023
Shriver
Michael Shannon Reads the Insane Delta Gamma Sorority Letter
Movie • 2013
Bullet Train
Movie • 2022
White Death
Amsterdam
Movie • 2022
Henry Norcross
I am My Films, Part 2... 30 Years Later
Movie • 2010
Self
Untitled Mr. Irrelevant Film
Movie • 2026
Bill Parcells
Bulls
Movie • 2026
Alistair Whitman
King Snake
Movie
Dinner with Audrey
Movie
Buddy
Movie • 2026
Charlie the Train (voice)
Vegas: A Love Story
Movie
Doctor Caligari's Cabinet of Wonders
Movie
Doctor Caligari
Early Edition
TV • 1996
Room 104
TV • 2017
Nathan
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
TV • 1999
Avery Shaw
Little Demon
TV • 2022
Unshaven Man (voice)
Boardwalk Empire
TV • 2010
Nelson Van Alden
George & Tammy
TV • 2022
George Jones
Late Night with Seth Meyers
TV • 2014
Self - Guest
The Daily Show
TV • 1996
Self
Waco
TV • 2018
Gary Noesner
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
TV • 2014
Self
The Little Drummer Girl
TV • 2018
Martin Kurtz
Waco: The Aftermath
TV • 2023
Gary Noesner
Lip Sync Battle
TV • 2015
Self
Death by Lightning
TV • 2025
James Garfield
Stars in the House
TV • 2020
Self
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
TV • 2015
The View
TV • 1997
Self
Off Camera with Sam Jones
TV • 2014
Self
Nine Perfect Strangers
TV • 2021
Napoleon
Crossing Jordan
TV • 2001
Philip Corday
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
TV • 2014
Self
Early Edition
TV • 1996
Mr. Andrews
Early Edition
TV • 1996
Merle
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
TV • 2015
Self - Guest
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
TV • 2015
Self