Bio: Michael Corbett Shannon was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, the son of Geraldine Hine, a lawyer, and Donald Sutherlin Shannon, an accounting professor at DePaul University. His grandfather was entomologist Raymond Corbett Shannon.Shannon began his professional stage career in Chicago. His first acting role was in "Winterset" at the Illinois Theatre Center. Over the next several years, he continued working on the stage with such companies as Steppenwolf, The Next Lab and the Red Orchid Theatre. He subsequently relocated to London for a year, and performed on stage in London's West End in such productions as "Woyzeck", "Killer Joe" and "Bug".While in Chicago, Shannon also kept busy in front of movie and television cameras, most notably in the big screen project Chicago Cab (1997), based on the long-running stage play "Hellcab". Kangaroo Jack (2003) marked the third Jerry Bruckheimer production in which Shannon has appeared. He also appeared in Bad Boys II (2003), directed by Michael Bay and starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, and in Grand Theft Parsons (2003), with Johnny Knoxville and Christina Applegate.In addition, Shannon appeared in Pearl Harbor (2001), also directed by Bay. His other film credits also include Curtis Hanson's 8 Mile (2002); Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky (2001) with Tom Cruise; Carl Franklin's High Crimes (2002) with Morgan Freeman; John Waters' Cecil B. Demented (2000), and Joel Schumacher's war drama Tigerland (2000).
Tivia: His favorite films are Alphaville (1965), The King of Comedy (1982), Dekalog (1989), Crumb (1994) and I Stand Alone (1998).Partner of actress Kate Arrington and father of their daughters, Sylvia and Marion.Is the first non-British actor to play Superman's enemy General Zod.One of his favorite shows is Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist (1995).He was awarded the 2013 Equity Joseph Jefferson Award for Principal Actor in a Play for "Simpatico" at the A Red Orchid Theater in Chicago, Illinois.Currently resides in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York. (January 2011)Attended and graduated from New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois.His father was an accounting professor at DePaul University and his mother is a lawyer.Does his own singing as George Jones in "George & Tammy".He was nominated for a 2002 Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Principal Role in a Play for "Bug" at the A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.Film critic Amy Nicholson believes he is the perfect actor to play Jack Reacher.Grandson of well-known entomologist Raymond Corbett Shannon (1894-1945).He was nominated for a 2007 Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play for "The Pillowman" at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois.Avid longtime fan of pulp novelist Jim Thompson.Despite starring in multiple acclaimed films in 2016, many of them under-performed at the box office. Nocturnal Animals (2016) grossed $10.6 million domestic and $30.7 million worldwide on a $22.5 million budget. Loving (2016), produced on a $9 million budget, grossed little over $9.1 million. Midnight Special (2016) with its $18 million budget grossed $3.7 million domestic and a mere $6.2 million worldwide. Elvis & Nixon (2016) grossed little over $1 million on a $4 million budget. Frank & Lola (2016) earned just $9,188 domestic. And Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), while not critically acclaimed, needed to gross $800 million in order to recoup its $300 million production and $165 million marketing budgets, according to financial analysts. In the end, it earned $873.3 million worldwide but it was still considered a disappointment by Warner Bros given the film's hefty investment.He was awarded the 1992 Joseph Jefferson Award Citation for Actor in a Principal Role in a Play for "Fun/Nobody" at the Next Lab Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.He was nominated for a 2010 Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Principal Role in a Play for "Mistakes Were Made" at the Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.Parents are Donald Sutherlin Shannon and Geraldine Hine; has one brother: Dave.He was awarded the 2018 Joseph Jefferson Equity Award for Midsize Play Director for "Traitor" at A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.