Michael Shannon Rewatches 'Man of Steel,' 'Knives Out,' 'Nuremberg' & More

Vanity Fair

"I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd be in all these movies." Michael Shannon takes a walk down memory lane as he rewatches scenes from his classic works including 'Man of Steel,' 'Knives Out,' 'The Shape of Water,' 'Revolutionary Road,' 'Take Shelter,' 'Noctural Animals,' 'Death by Lightning' and 'Nuremberg.'  NUREMBERG is in theaters nationwide November 7, 2025.    https://nuremberg-film.com/  Director: Claire Buss Director of Photography: Dave Sanders Editor: Cory Stevens Talent: Michael Shannon Producer: Madison Coffey Line Producer: Natasha Soto-Albors Production Manager: Andressa Pelachi Associat Production Manager: Elizabeth Hymes Talent Booker: Lauren Mendoza Camera Operator: Nigel Akam Gaffer: Dave Plank Audio Engineer: Kevin Teixeira   Production Assistant: Nicole Murphy Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin Supervising Editor: Eduardo Araujo Assistant Editor: Justin Symonds

Transcript

00:00What you gonna tell me about Ray and Turk?

00:02Who?

00:03Tom Ford let me screw around a little bit.

00:05I know there's one line I made up.

00:07It's when I have Carl in the interrogation room.

00:10I'm asking him about somebody, and he keeps saying, who, who?

00:14And I say, what are you, Al?

00:16I made that up.

00:17Hello, I'm Michael Shannon, and I'm going to watch some scenes

00:21from throughout my illustrious film career.

00:30The first thing I think when I see this scene is, oh, there's Union Station.

00:52Because I lived in Chicago for a long time.

00:55That's where I started this whole shenanigans.

00:58I used to go to Union Station.

01:00I used to walk in there, you know, get a cup of coffee

01:03if I was downtown or hit the head or whatever, you know.

01:07I'd been in there, taking trains out of there.

01:09And never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be shooting this

01:16in Union Station.

01:18If you love these people so much, you can mourn for them.

01:35Don't do this!

01:44Stop!

01:45Oh, gosh.

01:46I just wish people didn't kill people, period.

01:51I mean, whether or not they're aliens from outer space or just regular Joes.

01:58I guess one of the controversies with this film, and Zack engineered this really,

02:04is that Superman is not supposed to kill anybody.

02:07So I put him in a situation where if he wants to save these people,

02:14he has to kill me.

02:15And he does.

02:16And that obviously led to a lot of strumming drunk or whatever you say.

02:24I really love working with Zack.

02:26And I really love making this movie.

02:28I think a lot of people say, oh, you know, this isn't what he usually does.

02:33He just went for the big payday or something.

02:37But I'm proud of this movie.

02:39I think it's actually about something.

02:46I just think this is a window that's not going to stay open.

02:52We need to take advantage of it.

02:53And then you just need to look at the numbers.

02:55Dad, Dad, you put me in charge of our books.

03:00Let me be in charge.

03:01Let me do this, please.

03:03All I got to do is a scene with Christopher Plummer.

03:06God bless him.

03:07To cast that movie was all very, there was a lot of camaraderie.

03:11You know, we'd all hang around.

03:13Everybody had a trailer down this parking lot down the hill.

03:17But most of the cast would always just stay in the house.

03:19They wouldn't even go back to their trailers or whatever.

03:22There was a room in the basement.

03:24And we would all just sit down there and tell stories.

03:27But, you know, Christopher kept to himself, you know.

03:30He was older and he was, you know, conserving his energy, I suppose.

03:36But you're not going to be running the publishing house anymore.

03:43You're free of it.

03:45Oh.

03:48Dad, are you firing me?

03:50No.

03:51We'll talk details tomorrow.

03:54My mind's made up.

03:56I remember Ryan saying that he was going to shoot it just in one angle.

04:01And that always gives me the heebie-jeebies when I know there's not going to be any coverage.

04:06Because there's nothing to cut to.

04:08So you really just need a take that works throughout.

04:11And that's a hard thing to make.

04:16But sitting here watching you now, I'm like, oh, of course that's what he did.

04:20Because it's so right, you know.

04:23But that's why he's Rian Johnson.

04:25He knows what he's doing.

04:27Funny, Ransom.

04:28You skipped the funeral, but you're early for the will reading.

04:33Okay, people grieve in different ways.

04:35Let's not.

04:36You know what?

04:37It's funny you're here at all.

04:38Why are you even bothering?

04:39That's what I'm asking myself.

04:40What's that supposed to mean?

04:42He knows what it's supposed to mean.

04:44When we did the big group scenes, I mean, those could have gone on forever, you know.

04:48Everybody was pitching, you know.

04:51We really didn't want it to end, you know.

04:53We were just having so much fun.

05:01It's your obligation to report any detail, no matter how small or trivial it may seem.

05:08Trivial means unimportant.

05:11I didn't see nothing out of the ordinary, no.

05:14Or trivial.

05:16See, my feet were hurting.

05:17feet were hurting. What about you? She didn't see anything. Oh, they're just adorable. Look at them.

05:25What a duo. It's really bizarre seeing this scene, honestly, because I just was on a flight from Rome

05:34to Chicago, which takes a while. So I was watching cycling through movies. One of the movies I watched

05:41was called Bring Her Back, that Sally's the lead in. And it just blew my mind watching her in that,

05:49because it's like a horror movie, and she's really scary. I was like, that's little Sally Hawkins

05:56from Saber Water. What the? What? Look at that. Did either of you see him coming in or out of the lab?

06:03He works there, doesn't he? I mean, in a different way, doing something different.

06:09Something trivial? I mean, they're just both phenomenal. Their chemistry is just really

06:18something. It must have been interesting for Sally, I would imagine. I've often wondered if she put

06:24something in her ears, or if she just could hear. She's so convincing, being deaf.

06:33What'd you say to me?

06:39What is she saying?

06:41I didn't catch it.

06:44What is she saying?

06:46She is saying thank you.

06:49There's a lot of people in the military that have all the best intentions, and really are trying

06:55to do something very noble, and really are motivated by their love of our country and freedom, and

07:06I'm totally on board with that. But, you know, this whole notion that the Department of Defense

07:12should be called the Department of War again, it's just like, why are we going backwards?

07:20I'm not talking about acting. I can't help it. I saw that the other day. I'm like, what? What?

07:27But anyway, it seems like an idea Strickland would have been on board with.

07:32Well, I can't tell you how pleased I am. Oh, but I expect you'll be needing a bigger house

07:44now, won't you?

07:45Hold on a second, Ma. Hold on a second, Ma. I don't get this. I mean, what's so obvious

07:51about it? I mean, okay, she's pregnant. So what? Don't people have babies in Europe?

07:57Yeah. Suppose we just say that people anywhere aren't very well advised to have babies unless

08:01they can afford them.

08:03Well, Leo's making me laugh. I just get a real kick out of watching him, watching all

08:08of them, really. I mean, that was quite a table to be sitting at, you know? It was interesting

08:13just to be there with Leo, because I had been watching him since he was a kid, and now Harry's

08:20playing a man, you know, a family man. I'm just really impressed by it because it's so

08:29the opposite of his actual life. If you think of acting as being able to have empathy for

08:37people whose experiences are very different from yours, you know, then that's about as

08:41high a bar as you can set.

08:43I wouldn't be surprised if he knocked her up on purpose just so he could spend the rest

08:48of his life hiding behind a maternity dress. That way he'd never have to find out what

08:53he's really made of.

08:54Ow!

08:55I think that's just about enough out of you. I mean, who the hell do you think you are?

09:01You come in here and say whatever crazy goddamn thing comes into your head, and I think it's

09:06about time somebody told you to keep your goddamn mouth shut.

09:09He's not well, Frank.

09:10Not well, my ass! I don't give a damn if he's sick or well or dead or alive. He should

09:16keep his fucking opinions in the fucking insane asylum where they belong!

09:21I've never been in an insane asylum myself, but I don't think the hospital had much effect

09:29on John one way or the other, really. When she says he's not well, I mean, I don't think

09:36any of these people are particularly well. I mean, it's funny. I live in a big city. I live

09:43in New York City. Despite the fact that it's one of the major cities of the world, I see

09:50people that remind me of Frank and April all over the place. Big man you got there, April.

09:59Big family, man. I feel sorry for you.

10:07These eras have a habit of repeating themselves. It seems like we could be going through a similar

10:15period now. People wanting to hide their head in the sand and just focus on themselves and their own

10:23comfort and their own upward mobility because they find the world is too chaotic and frightening to deal with.

10:39Oh, sorry.

10:46Baby, there's no storm outside.

10:53I'm sorry.

10:59This is always the scene I think of when I think of this movie. I just always find it very moving

11:05when you see people trying to take care of each other. I hope that when people see this scene,

11:10it makes them think about how they deal with people in their own lives.

11:18I love you, but if I open the door, then nothing's going to change.

11:24You'll see that everything's fine, but nothing will change. Please.

11:34This is what it means to stay with us.

11:36I remember when we shot this, the very last thing we did was everything inside the storage container.

11:45It was the only time that we actually built a set. Everything else was shot on location, and

11:53it was a very long day because we were out of time. We didn't have any more days left, so

11:58we knew we had to get everything. I think it was in one day, so it wound up being, gosh,

12:0516-hour day or something like that.

12:17This is the film I made that means the most to me personally. Having said that, I haven't seen it in

12:23years. It's extraordinary to be sitting here and watching it now because I don't do that.

12:29I made this movie not long after I had my first daughter, so I was right alongside Curtis in being

12:39worried for her future and the state of the world. A lot of people assume this movie's about mental

12:47illness, and that's definitely woven into it, particularly in terms of Curtis's mother and whatnot.

12:54But for me, it was always the question of how do you not lose your damn mind living in a world like this?

13:03I don't know how anybody stays sane, really. It's too much. And yeah, it felt that way back then, and it

13:10certainly feels that way now.

13:26Sit up.

13:32Oh geez, I'm gonna be sick, Tony. Get over here quick.

13:35Here, you use this, right? You shoot him if he gets out alive.

13:44I just like Bobby. I liked him a lot. It's weird because I really look like my dad in this movie,

13:51with that mustache. My dad was a big dude, and he always had a little extra weight on him.

13:59But when I was a teenager, he went on one of these milkshakes you make with the powder, like a liquid

14:07diet, and he lost a ton of weight. And every time I see this, it's like when my dad did the milkshake

14:15diet. But it's really funny because when I met with Mr. Ford, he was asking me about the part that

14:21Aaron Taylor-Johnson was playing there. And I said, I'm really excited to meet with you, and I'm very

14:27flattered. Do you want to work with me? But I don't want to be that guy. He's like, well, who do you want

14:32to be? I'm like, I want to be Bobby.

14:35Oh, who's this?

14:38Well, look, you're here.

14:39You son of a bitch.

14:40Yeah.

14:42All right.

14:44Okay, come on, boy. Get over here.

14:47Hey, what'd you fucking tell this guy?

14:49Tell him nothing.

14:49No, he said you told him I was the one that killed this guy's wife and kid.

14:52What? That's all he told me about you.

14:54You're supposed to be the law man. What kind of bullshit is this?

14:57Fuck off.

14:59Both of you.

15:00I mean, he is, to me, to my mind, he's heroic. He's dying. He's about to die. And you know, he's kind

15:08of cynical and not very happy. But he runs into this situation and he decides, I'm going to help

15:17this fellow. He's very genuine. He is who he is. And he doesn't give a shit whether you like him or

15:24don't like him or what you think. And he knows what's right and he's going to do it.

15:29We're coming home late at night. He might get shot by a burglar.

15:41Tom Ford let me screw around a little bit. I know there's one line I made up. It's when I have Carl

15:47in the interrogation room earlier in the film. I'm asking him about somebody and he keeps saying,

15:53who, who? And I said, what are you now? I made that up.

16:04Today, I have sat by and borne witness to the shows of many big men.

16:15I've bored them with a deep disquiet.

16:20I didn't know anything about James Garfield, really. I assume like the majority of people.

16:27It's almost kind of painful, really, to look at him and think, oh, that's what a president

16:33needs to be like. One of the tragic things that is happening right now is the Department

16:40of Education is being dismantled in the United States of America. The Department of Education

16:47was James Garfield's idea because he believed that in order for all Americans to be free and equal,

16:54they all needed to be educated and that education was a right, no matter how rich or poor,

17:01black or white or whatever they were. And so it was his baby. And now it's being slaughtered.

17:10We want a man whose life and opinions embody all that is right and good about this place.

17:18A man who from a mountain's height looks bold.

17:22It's quite an order. I think people, God bless them, at the end of the day, no matter what their

17:28thoughts may be, I think they can be won over by genuineness. I can't think of an instance where

17:36genuineness is like a negative characteristic where you're like, oh, that person was way too genuine.

17:42I really found that distasteful. It's like a light and we're the moths drawn to the light

17:51and then we eat the wool.

17:52So you are aware that this makes you the only living man who can expound to us the true purposes

18:06of the Nazi party and the inner workings of its leadership?

18:11I am perfectly aware of this show.

18:13It was so interesting to be paired with Russell years after Man of Steel. I hadn't seen him

18:22in a while. I was super impressed with the work he was doing in Nuremberg. He was so prepared and

18:30specific and detailed and he had the accent down. And he really was a leader of these men. Every time

18:38we were in the courtroom, when he came in, all the other Nazis would be in the box first and then he'd

18:46come in and he'd say, good morning, man. And they always say, good morning. And he was like the,

18:53he had really created a bond with all of them that I admired that, you know, he didn't have to do that.

19:00He didn't have to, but he made them all feel very important. And I know they're playing Nazis,

19:06so I'm not, I don't admire that. But still, regardless of who they were playing, just to see

19:14him be concerned about even, you know, extras, people that maybe didn't even hardly say anything

19:22in the movie for someone who's been around as long as he has. I had a lot of respect for that.

19:28And upon coming to power, you immediately abolished parliamentary government in Germany.

19:33We found it to be no longer necessary. Is that because you believe people are not capable

19:39of self-government? We were elected by the people and given a mandate for change.

19:47It's incredible how much work went into getting these people to incriminate themselves,

19:55when anyone with half a brain or head knew they were horrible, despicable human beings. And God

20:02bless, you know, the legal system for being that way, that it's so rigorous and demanding.

20:08There were a lot of people that said, oh, let's just kill them. He's like, no, no,

20:13you have to put them in front of the world and make it very clear

20:17what happened and let them try to explain it. Because if you just kill them,

20:27then they could potentially be thought of as martyrs to a cause. And also just a quest for

20:34information to have as many details as possible. Because when they're dead, when they're gone,

20:42you're not going to find out more about it. You know, you sit here and you watch all these movies

20:55you've been in and you're like, oh, look at me. And then, you know, I go back to New York and get

20:59on the subway and somebody's like, get out of the way. You're like, oh yeah, you're right. I shouldn't

21:05be here. But that's life for your kids. There's nothing like your kids to remind you how inadequate

21:14you are. But it's pretty extraordinary. I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd be in all these

21:23movies. Never, ever. Enough!

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