What's Up, Michael Shannon? The Frequently Fierce Oscar Nominee Gets Comfy in Our Town

Michael Shannon can scare the hell out of an audience, as he proved on stage in Tracy Letts’ trailer-trash epics Killer Joe and Bug and on screen in an Oscar-nominated performance as the ultimate crazy neighbor in Sam Mendes’ Revolutionary Road. After years of scene-stealing supporting performances, Shannon is back on the big screen as Joan Jett’s macho manager in the new movie Runaways and a government agent in the forthcoming HBO series Boardwalk Empire. He’s also making time for a three-month run as the Stage Manager in the hit off-Broadway revival of Our Town—a rare middle-American role for an actor who’s mild-mannered in conversation but dangerous in work mode.

Was the Stage Manager in Our Town a role that had been on your radar?
Oh, no. I had never seen the play before going to opening night of this production. I had never even read it, because I was under the mistaken impression it was a hokey play that they did in high schools. When I saw it, it knocked me on my butt; it’s a startling play that was very much ahead of its time. But no, I didn’t think [about playing the role]. First of all, [director/original star David] Cromer’s interpretation of the Stage Manager was one of the best performances I’d ever seen, so the thought of trying to replicate it or step into it was very intimidating.

How did David Cromer guide you in taking over the role?
A lot of it has to do with the relationship to the audience. He kept saying, “Respect the audience. Respect their time. Respect them for who they are.” In this [intimate] production, you have to walk into a room full of strangers and establish a personal connection. He steers away from the sentimentality that so often is part of this play.

You’re back at the Barrow Street Theatre, where you starred in Tracy Letts' Bug. Why is his writing a good match for you?
We both think that theater is supposed to be a visceral experience—it’s not supposed to be dull. I think we’ve both got a lot of piss and vinegar in us, to be blunt about it. We both like kicking up a dust storm. He gave me the ammunition to do that, and I went for it. You know, Tracy’s moved on now. I wasn’t involved with August: Osage County and Superior Donuts. His style seems to be changing.

I read that you gave up doing August for the movie Revolutionary Road.
It was an awkward situation where I couldn’t do both because of the timing. It wasn’t even for sure that I was going to do [August]. I had done a workshop where I played Little Charles. It would be great to do that part at some point, but what’s really important are the female roles, the mother and the daughters.

Every article about your acting career includes words like “brooding” and “intimidating” and “physically threatening.” Do you ever want to say, “What are you talking about—I’m a sweetheart”?
I guess I could look at it that way, but I also have to remind myself that a lot of my peers, people I know and respect, work in obscurity. At least I’ve gotten to the point where people are willing to call me on the phone and ask me about [plays and movies]. Something to be grateful for!

Did the Oscar nomination [for Revolutionary Road] kick your career to another level?
It was certainly helpful. More than anything, it was really just fun. It was a fun adventure to go to the show and sit there in the audience and be around all the movie stars. Around the same time, I got the chance to do a new show for HBO called Boardwalk Empire.

Tell us about it.
It’s set in Atlantic City during Prohibition. I play a special agent for the Treasury Department; I’m the law. Steve Buscemi is the main character, and there are a lot of great New York stage actors in there—Michael Stuhlbarg, Paul Sparks—a lot of faces you’ll recognize. I think it will come out in September.

Your partner, actress Kate Arrington, recently co-starred off-Broadway in Happy Now? and she’ll be in a play at Steppenwolf next season. How do you juggle work and parenting your toddler daughter?
It’s intense, I won’t lie. It’s important for me that Kate is working and happy, and we’ve gotten really lucky so far. Kate’s mother and two sisters are in New York, and they’ve been incredible about helping us with our daughter. My stepmother is in Chicago, so we’ve got people who can help there. The key is just to take it one day at a time and try not to think too much about the future. We figure it won’t be any good for Sylvie if her parents are frustrated because they’re not doing what they love. And we still get to spend a lot of time with her. We’re with her pretty much all day.

What’s your favorite thing about being a dad?
Oh my god, where do I start? Just walking down the street with her sitting on my shoulders. She plays with my ears and says, “Oh, that’s Ben’s house. That’s Lucy’s house.” She knows where everybody lives.