Michael Shannon has developed a reputation over the decades as a consuming and forceful actor. Due to this intensity, he’s played multiple iconic villains, from General Zod in Man of Steel to Col. Richard Strickland in The Shape of Water. Shannon’s range is much more expansive and far-reaching than this, however, and he’s starred in countless films, television shows, and stage productions.
Since making his debut in 1993’s Groundhog Day, Shannon has brought his unique brand of intensity to various genres, earning awards nominations and accolades along the way. Few actors possess Shannon’s depth and presence, and this list compiles his 10 best roles in movies and television, ranked by their percentage scores on IMDb.
Loving (2016) - 89%
Michael Shannon’s frequent collaborator Jeff Nichols directed this affecting story based on the real lives of an interracial couple. Richard and Mildred Loving, played by Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga, was imprisoned in the state of Virginia in 1958 for breaking the state’s miscegenation laws, and Loving details the couple’s ordeal.
The Lovings refused to accept their fate, and their case eventually led to a Supreme Court ruling that struck down such laws. In the film, Michael Shannon plays a LIFE Magazine photographer tasked with creating a photo journal of the Lovings.
Shotgun Stories (2007) - 90%
Another film by Jeff Nichols, Shotgun Stories is a Southern gothic tale set in Arkansas. This is actually Nichols’s first feature, and it focuses on two rival families linked by the same father. In it, Shannon plays Son, one of Cleaman’s seven sons. After siring Son and two other boys, Cleaman abandoned them and their mother, remarrying and parenting four more boys.
After Cleaman’s death, the tension between the two families intensifies. They all exist in a world where violence is commonplace, and it’s what they eventually resort to in order to reconcile with Cleaman’s legacy.
The Shape Of Water (2017) - 92%
A love story about a mute janitor and an amphibious humanoid trapped in a laboratory, this award-winning, mid-century dark fairy tale from Guillermo del Toro blends multiple genres, from horror to espionage to rom-com.
Michael Shannon plays the memorable villain Col. Richard Strickland, tasked by the US Military to study the creature after he captures it in a South American river. He plans to torture and vivisect the Amphibian Man in order to figure out how he can be weaponized and exploited to give the Americans an edge during the Cold War. Strickland is ferocious and pernicious, and he will stop at nothing to complete his mission.
Boardwalk Empire (2010 - 2014) - 92%
In the acclaimed HBO drama Boardwalk Empire, which focuses on Atlantic City bootleggers and crime bosses during the Prohibition era, Shannon plays a Prohibition agent turned crook named Nelson Van Alden.
Van Alden is initially portrayed as a pious and strict man, a devout Christian whose morals align perfectly with the anti-imbibers who made Prohibition possible. As he delves deeper and deeper into the criminal underworld, Van Alden’s urges and desires conflict with his professional and familial guises, causing him to give those identities up completely for a new one in Chicago working with Al Capone.
Take Shelter (2011) - 92%
Jeff Nichols really made a name for himself as a compelling and unique director with this film, which stars Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain as a married couple living in Ohio with a young, deaf daughter. Shannon plays Curtis, a construction worker who begins experiencing strange hallucinations, like phantom rains and swarms of blackbirds.
As Curtis’s visions intensify, he becomes more and more unhinged. Take Shelter integrates science fiction and familial themes flawlessly, toeing the line between telling a story about a man struggling with mental health and telling a story about the end of the world. Ultimately, Curtis and his family stick together, perhaps elucidating the most important theme of the movie: resiliency.
99 Homes (2015) - 93%
A hard-hitting investigation into the kinds of people who capitalized from the financial recession of 2008, 99 Homes is about a Florida businessman whose attempt to kick a family out of their home leads to interesting consequences.
Shannon plays the businessman, Rick Carver, and Andrew Garfield plays the owner of the house, Dennis Nash. Carver and Nash strike a deal: if Nash will help Carver evict other residents out of their homes, he will let Nash keep his. With their portrayals, Shannon and Garfield provide some searing criticism of how capitalism forces people into competition for the roofs over their heads.
Little Drummer Girl (2018) - 95%
A BBC miniseries based on a book by John Le Carre, The Little Drummer Girl is a spy thriller set in 1979. Shannon stars alongside Alexander Skarsgard and Florence Pugh, it focuses on a young English actress who is recruited by the Israeli intelligence agency named Mossad to infiltrate a Pakistani group suspected of causing a threat to Europe.
Shannon plays an Israeli spy working for the clandestine agency, a man named Martin Kurtz. Korean auteur Park Chan-wook directed the series, and it received critical acclaim upon its release.
Groundhog Day (1993) - 96%
Shannon made his big-screen debut in the Bill Murray comedy Groundhog Day, a fantastical comedy about a Pittsburgh weatherman whose life keeps looping back to the morning of Groundhog Day. Written and Directed by Harold Ramis, the movie is considered a comedy cult classic.
Shannon has a small role in the film, playing a groom named Fred during a wedding scene, and fans might be surprised to find it here, but as his debut role, it’s of great importance to his career.
Mud (2013) - 97%
After the success of Take Shelter, Jeff Nichols released this part noir, part coming-of-age drama set in Arkansas. Matthew McConaughey plays the title character, a drifter whose hiding place is discovered by a pair of nosy teenage boys.
The boys forge a bond with Mud, who is on the run after killing a man in Texas. Shannon plays Galen, a disorganized and problematic father figure for one of the boys, who goes by Neckbone. Nichols cites Mark Twain’s works as a source for the story, especially Tom Sawyer.
Knives Out (2019) - 97%
Rian Johnson released this successful ensemble whodunnit in the fall of 2019. On the night of his 85th birthday, famous mystery author Harland Thrombey is found dead in his study. Over the subsequent days, his relatives, including his three children, are questioned by police and a private detective named Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig.
It turns out the family has a lot to gain from Harland’s death, but they’re shocked when his will specifies that all of his assets will be passed down to his young nurse, Marta. Shannon plays Harland’s youngest son, Walt. Equal parts entertaining and intelligent, Knives Out is a refreshing take on the Holmesian mystery.
