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With two Oscar nominations and after a 26-year artistic career, Shannon has become one of the most outstanding theater, film and television actors in the United States. With 91 films under his belt, he has shared the screen with Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bill Murray, Will Smith, Tom Cruise and Kevin Spacey under the direction of some of the greats like Oliver Stone, Michael Bay, Sam Mendes and Guillermo del Toro, only to mention a few.
In this year’s edition, the Cartagena de Indias International Film Festival (FICCI) pays tribute to two of his most well-renowned films.
TAKE SHELTER (2011)
Director: Jeff Nichols
This award-winning film by Jeff Nichols provides Michael Shannon with the perfect scaffolding for yet another gripping performance, this time as a man who is dragged to the depths of hell, although he isn’t sure if what he is experiencing are premonitions, nightmares or the onset of schizophrenia. Curtis is a tradesman who lives a modest, but satisfying life. He spends his meager wage on treatments for his deaf daughter, who he would do anything for. But all this changes when, convinced a deadly tornado is coming, he pours all his savings into building a bunker. But is the threat real? Is he some kind of prophet? Or is it all in his head? The ambiguous terrain the film moves on lends it its special character, midway between a drama, horror and psychological thriller. Nichols himself has said on more than one occasion that he got his inspiration from the desperation and anguish people experience in times of economic crisis. |
99 HOMES (2014)
Director: Ramin Bahrani
The only thing real-estate agent Rick Carver (Michael Shannon) cares about is business and when it comes to foreclosures, he has the callousness it takes. When Dennis Nash is evicted along with his mother and son from the house that has been their home for as long as they can remember, little does he suspect the job offer that awaits him. Unable to support his family, Nash is slowly forced to set his value judgments aside and enter a world governed by individualism and egoism, in a nation built by and for the victors, regardless of the price that must be paid by the “vanquished”. A drama that keeps us on tenterhooks the whole time, 99 Homes addresses one of the most brutal aspects of capitalism: the power banks wield and how the mortgage business is at odds with our right to a home. |
Michael Shannon was born on August 7, 1974 in Lexington, Kentucky, in the U.S. Chasing his dream to succeed as a theater actor, he moved to Chicago. His first role was in the play Winterset at the Illinois Theatre Center. From that point forward he was unstoppable, becoming one of the most well-known theatrical performers in the United States. He was in companies such as Steppenwolf, The Next Lab and the Red Orchid Theater. In London, where he lived for a year, he won over the West End stages with productions such as Woyzeck, Killer Joe and Bug.
Upon his return to the U.S., in 1993 he made his debut in film with a minor supporting role in Groundhog Day by Harold Ramis and took a lead role in the music video of Every Mother's Nightmare for the band House of Pain. Since then, his career as a film actor has only continued.
In 2008, despite his minor role as John Givings in Revolutionary Road by Sam Mendes, his strong performance got him his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Following this film were titles such as Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) and My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2009). He took an award-winning lead role in Take Shelter (2011) by Jeff Nichols, who he would return to work with in Midnight Special (2016). Shannon also played in roles such as General Zod in the DC Comics films of Man of Steel (2013) and Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), and was the king of rock ’n roll in Elvis & Nixon (2016). In 2016 he received his second Oscar nomination as Best Actor with Nocturnal Animals (2016) by Tom Ford.
With Take shelter (2011) by Jeff Nichols, of the 25 nominations he received as Best Actor, he won 8 awards; and with 99 Homes (2015) by Rami Bahrani, a winning film at the Venice Film Festival, he won 6 awards of his over 20 nominations. These are the two films that FICCI has chosen to pay tribute to Shannon, a figure in the film world as unique as he is indispensable. For both those who have yet to know who he is and for those who have followed his career, this is a small sample of two unforgettable performances that attest to his strength, unique character and unquestionable ability to interpret.
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chatelin bruno 
