The TV show Michael Shannon begged to appear in: “The apex of entertainment”
If you wanted to study the career of an actor who had a typical ascension to fame, it would be best not to look too closely at Michael Shannon, whose rise to prominence was more than a little unusual, having spent several decades as a background player in films like 8 Mile and Vanilla Sky before he had anything close to a leading role.
Now he is a two-time Academy Award nominee who’s starred in massive blockbusters, indie hits, and appeared in acclaimed stage productions, but ever atypical, the highlight of his career was appearing on a legendary late-night show.
In that, based on his choices, it doesn’t seem like being a celebrity is among his top priorities, wherein he turned down the opportunity to appear in a Star Wars film, instead devoting his efforts to making smaller, independent projects with decidedly less commercial appeal.
The actor developed a consistent working relationship with director Jeff Nichols, with whom he made six films; he also managed to pop up in all sorts of bizarre projects, such as the darkly comedic adaptation of the Tracy Letts play Bug and the Nicolas Cage cop thriller Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.
Even if Shannon seemed to resist the idea of being traditionally famous, he proved to be too interesting an onscreen presence for the industry to sleep on. It was only shortly after landing a surprise Oscar nomination for his scene-stealing role in Revolutionary Road that he was cast as the villain General Zod in Man of Steel, a reboot of the DC comic book character intended to launch a universe.
While it’s unclear how much enjoyment the man got out of being in a critically reviled comic book movie, the press cycle for Man of Steel led him to making an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, which he told the AV Club that he “had to beg to get on”.
Being on late-night talk shows comes with the territory for actors promoting major studio films, but Shannon admired Letterman as being “kind of an avatar culturally”, and when comparing him to other hosts like Craig Ferguson, Jay Leno, and Jimmy Kimmel, the former clearly had his preference.
“He’s the apex of entertainment as far as I’m concerned,” Shannon said of Letterman, “I think he’s much funnier than all the other guys doing it combined”.
While being on Letterman may have been a common lifelong dream for those watching The Late Show ever since it began in 1993, Shannon managed to fulfil his goal only briefly before it would have no longer been possible, for two years later the host officially retired from and passed the reins to Stephen Colbert, who is set to host the programme until its official conclusion in early 2026.
Shannon might not be an actor best-known for comedy, but his interview with Letterman revealed a sly, snarky sense of humour that may not have been picked up on by those who had only seen him in more serious films.
It may not entirely be a coincidence that in the immediate aftermath, he took on a few openly comedic parts, including an idiosyncratic drug dealer in The Night Before, a quirky version of Elvis Presley in Elvis & Nixon, and a haughty child of privilege in Knives Out. It’s certainly a win for Shannon’s career, with the only downside being, he hasn’t gotten the chance to talk to Letterman about it.
