Michael Corbett Shannon was born in Lexington, Kentucky, on August 7, 1974. The award-winning actor is best known for his roles in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire and Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water.

Before his major successes, Shannon moved to Chicago with his father after his parents’ divorce. He’d split his time living with both parents in the two cities. His first gig was as the main character in the music video for Every Mother’s Nightmare 1993 song “House of Pain.”

Shannon performed on stage in Chicago, where he helped found A Red Orchid Theatre that same year. 1993 was a big year for the aspiring actor, who made his film debut in Groundhog Day as a wedding groom. Over the next few years, Shannon would land roles in Jesus’ Son, Pearl Harbor, 8 Mile, Vanilla Sky, Kangaroo Jack, Bad Boys II, and Grand Theft Parsons. In 2002, Shannon formed the indie rock band Corporal. He would be the band’s singer, guitarist, and lyricist. Eight years later, Corporal released its self-titled debut album. The band’s song “Obama” was their endorsement of President Obama’s run for reelection.

In 2008, he starred in the romantic drama film Revolutionary Road alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. His performance as the clinically insane son earned him universal acclaim and awards. In 2011’s Take Shelter, Shannon received rave reviews for his performance as Curtis LaForche. With 106 acting credits under his belt and more projects to come, Shannon has had a fruitful career.

Take a look below at our list of Michael Shannon’s 5 most entertaining roles:

• 5. 8 Mile - Greg Buehl

  Shannon plays a character that we really despise — the abusive boyfriend of Rabbit’s (Eminem) mother. His character, Greg Buehl, went to school with Rabbit aka Jimmy, too. Upon finding an eviction notice, he and Rabbit get into a fight, and he leaves for good.

• 4. Knives Out - Walt Thrombey

  Shannon plays Walt Thrombey, the murdered Harlan Thrombey’s youngest son. As such, he is the least mature and most spoiled out of all the family members — and that’s saying a lot when they’re all wackos. He also seems to be completely unaware of his alt-right son, Jacob (Jaeden Martell).

• 3. Bullet Train - The White Death

  In the 2022 action-comedy film, Shannon stars as the main antogonist — The White Death. He is the one who brought everyone on the bullet train in hopes they’d all kill each other. In this ridiculous monologue revealing his plan, Shannon’s character says, “If you do not control your fate, it will control you.”

• The Shape of Water - Colonel Richard Strickland

  In this delightful fantasy film by Guillermo del Toro, Shannon plays the main antagonist, Colonel Richard Strickland. He discovers the humanoid amphibian and imprisons him. Once “the Asset” escapes, Strickland does whatever it takes in order to retrieve it, making his character one whose death we revel in.

• Boardwalk Empire - Nelson Van Alden

  Shannon’s Nelson Van Alden was an American Bureau of Prohibition and Bureau of Internal Revenue federal agent during Prohibition, who is after bringing Nucky Thompson’s (Steve Buscemi) entire operation down. Van Alden appeared on all five seasons of Boardwalk. His character has a volatile temper, is self-loathing, and extremely religious (he commits self-flagellation to repress sinful thoughts), for which makes him a fan-favorite, despite him being the primary antagonist of Nucky.

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