Interview: Michael Shannon on ‘Eric Larue’ and the Art of Directing
In Maker’s Dozen, we ask folks in and around the film industry 12 questions and have them ask one of us.
Michael Shannon is an Academy Award-nominated actor best known for his roles in The Shape of Water, Revolutionary Road, Nocturnal Animals, Knives Out, and Man of Steel. He’s also had a prolific career on stage in Chicago and New York. His directorial debut Eric Larue opens in theaters on April 4.
In this interview, we talked with Michael about directing, working with Judy Greer and Alexander Skarsgård, parenting advice, and the movie in his filmography that needs to be seen by more people.
This interview has been edited for content and clarity.
1. What’s the Michael Shannon origin story?
I’m from Lexington, Kentucky, which is where my mom lives. And then when I was 5 my dad moved to Chicago, so I went back and forth between Kentucky and Chicago. Once I got out of high school, I started doing storefront theater in Chicago and the rest is history.
2. I’ve seen you on stage in Pilgrim’s Progress and on screen in some of my favorite films of the 21st century. You literally reunited R.E.M., one of the most important and beloved American bands. And now I’m here chatting with you about your directorial debut. Did you always know you wanted to direct a film, or was it something about this script?
No, I was convinced I would never do it. Honestly, I thought it was a real pain in the butt. It looked like a lot of work. You gotta take care of all these different people and manage all these different departments and try to get them to harmonically converge into a movie that people enjoy watching. But Brett gave me this screenplay and it just came to me—it was like solving a Rubik’s Cube for the first time or something. It’s like, oh, I see it. I see all the people. I see all the places. I feel it, and I want to make it. I didn’t want to act in it because by acting in it, I would just be one character in the thing, and when you direct you have a hand in creating all of the characters and all of the relationships and the whole community, and that’s what I wanted to do.
3. Judy Greer was such an inspired choice. There’s a comfort to her presence in pretty much everything that she’s in, so that really made connecting to her character pretty easy. How did you land on her as your lead?
Yeah, I’ve worked with Judy a couple of times. We made a movie called Pottersville together that is a sweet holiday movie. And then we did an episode of Room 104 together for HBO that the Duplass Brothers produced. Judy’s just one of those people you’re always so excited to see. You always feel better when she’s around. But she’s also got a lot of depth. She’s a super intelligent person, very thoughtful person, very concerned about the state of the world. I don’t think she gets an opportunity to utilize that aspect of herself very often work-wise, so I knew I didn’t want the usual suspects in this part. I wanted somebody for whom it would be a novel opportunity. Because I feel like Janice the character is very uncomfortable in this situation and I didn’t want somebody who felt at home being dramatic. Janice is not a drama queen. She’s just kind of a normal person and then something extraordinarily strange and sad happens and then she’s trying to figure out how to deal with it.
4. On the other side of the coin is Alexander Skarsgård. A vampire, a viking, Tarzan. What did you see in him that made you think “He’s perfect for a born again, boner-concealing dimwit!”
I did a show called The Little Drummer Girl with Alex. We usually would be at the same lodgings where we shot around Europe. Particularly when we were shooting in Greece, we were at the same hotel and I spent a lot of time talking with him and getting to know him. He’s just one of the sweetest guys you’ll ever meet. He has a big, big heart. You have a real teddy bear of a guy. It’s funny, he gets cast in these parts where, I think much like with me, he’s a big guy who’s capable of being intimidating. But that’s not the core of our actual selves. His desire to please and his desire to understand and be a friend I think really comes through in this performance.
5. What is your favorite scene of the film and why?
Oh dear, that’s hard to say. I love them all, and there’s different ones I love for different characters. For Ron, the part that Alex plays, I love the scene where he goes to visit Pastor Bill on his lunch break to tell him he agrees to the meeting with the mothers and then Pastor Bill says, “Have you talked to your wife about it?” And he’s like “No, but I’m going to.” I love that scene for Ron. For Judy, I mean the woman’s knocking it out of the park in every frame of the movie. I also don’t want to give too much away, but there’s one from her later in the film.
6. What’s something you brought to this project that you learned from other directors?
I don’t think I could label that really. I think a lot of it is learning by osmosis and it’s a very subconscious thing. I didn’t walk around on other people’s sets with like a little notepad taking notes. This just comes from years of being on sets. The main thing a director does is try to maximize all the other artists’ chances of success. Because if they are all kicking ass then you’re going to have a kickass move. But if all the artists you’re surrounded by are frustrated or feel lost or confused, then you’re going to have a crappy movie. So I’m like the information desk. I’m there to answer your questions and help you enjoy your experience on set. That’s what I feel like my job is. And then every once in a while, very subtly, actually make some choices. But it’s not this notion of the director with the giant megaphone. That’s not how I do things. For me it’s not an authority position. You’re nurturing something into being.
7. What’s another play you’d love to see turned into a movie?
So many. There’s a play by another Brett I know named Brett Leonard called The Long Red Road that they actually did at Goodman Theatre years ago. Philip Seymour Hoffman directed it and Tom Hardy was in it. I’ve been thinking maybe that would be the next film I would make, but it’s in very early stages.
8. You’re typically known for your quiet, simmering intensity on screen. I’m curious, is there a character persona or side of your personality that you’d like to explore but haven’t had the chance to?
No. I’ve done a lot of exploring for 35 years now. Something like Pottersville was not a dark, foreboding presence. That’s some goofball who runs a little store in town and runs around in a Bigfoot outfit.
“For me, director is not an authority position. You’re nurturing something into being.”
9. What movie in your filmography needs to be seen by more people?
I made a movie in Chicago that I actually think is really beautiful, and I don’t know how many people have seen it. It’s called What They Had and stars Blythe Danner and Robert Forster. It’s actually the second movie I did with Robert Forster and he died not too long after that. They’re the parents and me and Hilary Swank are the kids. I thought it was a really sweet movie. A woman named Elizabeth Chomko made it. I think people should check it out.
10. You’ve worked on all six of Jeff Nichols’ movies. What is it about him or his projects that has kept you coming back?
He’s a singular artist. There’s no one who makes movies the way he makes movies. There’s nobody with his voice. That’s all. It’s pretty simple. Although I’d say The Bikeriders was a real departure for him. It was extraordinary to see him make a movie like that. It was very different from the other ones, but it still felt like a Jeff Nichols movie.
11. On top of being a prolific artist, you’re also a father. We have young children, so what’s your parenting advice for us?
I don’t even remember young children. My older daughter’s 16 and if she was financially independent she wouldn’t need me at all. And my 11 year old, I mean, they’re both just the best kids we could possibly ask for. They’re easy. They’ve always been easy. I’m not a fan of parenting advice. When people used to give me advice, I used to be like, Screw off, I’ll do it how I do it. This notion that there’s a formula to raising children and you should do it like this or that… I live in Brooklyn and it seems like everybody’s just trying so hard to be the perfect parent. I just never really got that uptight about it. Everybody talks about sleep methods and all this stuff, like what are you talking about? Just be nice to your kids. They just want you to be nice. Don’t be an asshole.
12. What’s your question for us?
Why do you live in the Chicago suburbs?
Kevin: That’s where we grew up, it’s where our jobs are, where our friends and family are. It’s an easy drive to the city for when I want to catch Pilgrim’s Progress and other great things happening in the city. I also like the quiet where I’m at in the suburbs. It’s good for my mental state.