Nine Perfect Strangers

Academy Award®, Golden Globe® and Tony Award® nominated actor Michael Shannon continues to make his mark in entertainment, working with the industry’s most respected talent and treading the boards in notable theaters around the world.

Shannon will next be seen in the Hulu drama series, Nine Perfect Strangers, alongside Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, Manny Jacinto, Tiffany Boone, Luke Evans, Melvin Gregg, Grace Van Patten, Asher Keddie and Samara Weaving. The series, adapted from the book of the same name by Liane Moriarty, takes place at a boutique health-and-wellness resort that promises healing and transformation as nine stressed city dwellers try to get on a path to a better way of living. Shannon plays the role of ‘Napoleon,’ one of the nine “perfect” strangers. Watching over them during this ten-day retreat is the resort’s director Masha (Kidman), a woman on a mission to reinvigorate their tired minds and bodies. However, these strangers have no idea what is about to hit them.

Following, Shannon will be seen in Michael Mailer’s romantic, coming-of-age drama, Swing. Set in 1999, it centers on a group of friends and crew teammates in their last year of college whose lives are changed forever when a Vietnam vet (Shannon) takes over as coach of their dysfunctional team. Shannon will also be seen in Michael Maren’s Shriver, opposite Kate Hudson and Don Johnson. The film follows a small college, who is desperate to make a splash in the literary world, thinks they have found Shriver (Shannon), a famous writer who has been in hiding for 20 years. Unfortunately, the person they have located is a different Shriver, who in actuality is a down-on-his-luck drunk who has never read a book in his life. With nothing to lose, Shriver accepts the invitation and steps into the limelight.

Shannon recently wrapped lensing David Leitch’s action thriller Bullet Train alongside Brad Pitt, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Zazie Beetz and Andrew Koji. The film is based on the acclaimed Japanese novel, Maria Beetle by Kotaro Isaka. Following, he will film the Untiled David O’Russell project alongside Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Rami Malek and Zoe Saldana.

Most notably, Shannon garnered critical acclaim for his Oscar® nominated supporting role in Revolutionary Road, playing ‘John Givings,’ the psychologically troubled neighbor’s son. Directed by Sam Mendes and adapted by Justin Haythe, Shannon stars opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet and Kathy Bates. He went on to receive additional acclaim for Ramin Bahrani’s timely drama 99 Homes, co-starring opposite Andrew Garfield. Set against the backdrop of the economic crisis, Shannon portrayed ‘Rick Carver,’ a charismatic and ruthless real estate tycoon gaming the market and home banking system. He was nominated for a Golden Globe®, Screen Actors Guild®, Critics Choice®, Gotham Award® and Film Independent Spirit Award on behalf of this performance. Additional accolades include Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals, opposite Jake Gyllenhaal, Amy Adams and Aaron Taylor Johnson. For his performance, Shannon received an Academy Award® and Critics Choice® nomination. Shannon was also seen in Guillermo del Toro’s critically acclaimed drama, The Shape of Water, a love story set against the backdrop of Cold War-era America. The film co-stars Sally Hawkins, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlbarg and Octavia Spencer. The Shape of Water won the 2018 Oscar® for Best Picture, adding to its tally of 4 Academy Award wins and 13 nominations.

With over eighty roles in film, Shannon’s credits include in Seth Savoy’s Echo Boomers; Scott Teems’ The Quarry; Rian Johnson’s Knives Out; Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s The Current War; Meredith Danluck’s State Like Sleep; Elizabeth Chomko’s, What They Had; Nicolai Fuglsig’s 12 Strong; Werner Herzog’s Salt and Fire; Bart Freundlich’s Wolves; Matthew M. Ross’ Frank & Lola; Joshua Marston’s Complete Unknown; Liza Johnson’s Elvis & Nixon; Jonathan Levine’s The Night Before; Peter Sollett’s Freeheld; John McNaughton’s The Harvest; Jake Paltrow’s The Young Ones; Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel; Ariel Vromen’s The Iceman; David Koepp’s Premium Rush; Liza Johnson’s Return; Marc Forster’s Machine Gun Preacher; Floria Sigismondi’s The Runaways; Werner Herzog’s My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done and Bad Lieutenant; Sydney Lumet’s Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead; Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center; William Friedkin’s Bug; Curtis Hanson’s Lucky You; Michael Bay’s Bad Boys II; Curtis Hanson’s 8 Mile; David McNally’s Kangaroo Jack; Cameron Crowe’s Vanilla Sky; Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor; John Waters’ Cecil B. DeMented; Noah Buschel’s The Missing Person and Shana Feste’s The Greatest.

Shannon’s credits also include collaborative re-teams with director Jeff Nichols. He most recently appeared in the drama Loving. His previous collaborations with Nichols include Hank the Cowdog; Midnight Special; Take Shelter, for which he received a 2011 Film Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actor; as well as the films Mud and Shotgun Stories.

On television, Shannon’s credits include Chan-wook Park’s AMC mini-series, The Little Drummer Girl; Jay and Mark Duplass’ HBO anthology series Room 104; Ramin Bahrani’s HBO film Fahrenheit 451; Drew and John Erick Dowdle’s Paramount Network limited series Waco; as well as Martin Scorsese’s HBO series, Boardwalk Empire.

Outside of his roles on screen, Shannon maintains a strong connection to theater. He was last seen on stage starring in Terrence McNally’s final production, the Broadway revival of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, which was nominated for a Tony® nomination in the category for Best Revival of a Play.

In 2018, he directed the world premiere of Traitor, Brett Neveu’s adaption of Henrik Ibsen’s Enemy of the People, for which he won a Jeff Award in the category of Best Director in a Midsize Play. Traitor included ensemble members Dado, Larry Grimm, Danny McCarthy, Guy Van Swearingen and Natalie West. 

Most notably, Shannon was seen on Broadway co-starring alongside Jessica Lange, Gabriel Byrne, and John Gallagher Jr. in Long Day’s Journey into Night. Produced by the Roundabout Theater Company and directed by Jonathan Kent, the revival of Eugene O’Neill’s landmark 1956 drama led Shannon to a 2016 Tony® nomination for ‘Supporting Actor’ as well as 2016 Drama Desk Award for ‘Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play.’ Prior to that, Shannon appeared opposite Paul Rudd, Ed Asner, and Kate Arrington in Grace at the Cort Theatre. For his portrayal of ‘Sam,’ a distrustful and lonely computer genius who had recently lost his fiancé in a car accident, Shannon was nominated for a 2013 Distinguished Performance Drama League Award.  Shannon also led Craig Wright’s off-Broadway play, Mistakes Were Made, at the Barrow Street Theater. Directed by Dexter Bullard, Shannon portrays ‘Felix Artifex,’ a small time theatre producer, who gets in way over his fast-talking head when he takes on an epic about the French Revolution. The play received its world premiere at A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago in 2009 with the same cast and director. The critically acclaimed production garnered numerous accolades for Shannon, including an Outstanding Lead Actor Lortel Award nomination, an Outstanding Actor in a Play Drama Desk Award nomination, an Outstanding Solo Performance Outer Critics Award nomination, and a Distinguished Performance Drama League Award nomination.

Additional theater credits include Victims of Duty (A Red Orchid Theatre); Simpatico (McCarter Theatre Center); Pilgrim’s Progress (A Red Orchid Theater); Uncle Vanya (Soho Rep Theatre); Our Town (Barrow Street Theatre); Lady (Rattlestick Theatre); The Metal Children (Vineyard Theatre); The Little Flower of East Orange (Public Theatre); The Pillowman (Steppenwolf Theatre); Bug (Barrow Street Theatre, Red Orchid Theatre and Gate Theatre); Man From Nebraska (Steppenwolf Theatre); Mr. Kolpert (Red Orchid Theatre); Killer Joe (SoHo Playhouse, Next Lab Theatre and Vaudeville Theatre); The Idiot (Lookingglass Theatre); The Killer (Red Orchid Theatre); and Woyzeck (Gate Theatre).  

Michael Shannon grew up in Lexington, Kentucky and began his professional stage career in Chicago, Illinois.