- Title: UK: Michael Shannon promotes "Take Shelter" at the London Film Festival
- Date: 22nd October 2011
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (OCTOBER 21, 2011) (REUTERS) SHANNON WALKING AWAY FROM CAMERA (SOUNDBITE) (English) MICHAEL SHANNON, ACTOR, SAYING: "Well I think the anxiety he has is a direct result of how much he cares about his family, you know. If he was alone, if he didn't have a family, I don't think it would be as big a deal to him. I think the reason he's so frightened is that he might not be able to protect the people that he loves." VARIOUS OF SHANNON INTERVIEWED BY TV CREW (SOUNDBITE) (English) MICHAEL SHANNON, ACTOR, SAYING: "No, usually I mean by the end of the day I was pretty tired and just wanted to go and have dinner and then go to bed, you know. We shot the movie very fast, four week shooting schedule so. A lot of time by the end of the day I just wanted to get a good night sleep."
- Embargoed: 6th November 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: United Kingdom
- Country: United Kingdom
- Reuters ID: LVACXRNSXP7K54XQ2DC8ZDY5IVEM
- Story Text: Oscar-nominated actor and "Boardwalk Empire" star Michael Shannon premieres new movie "Take Shelter" at the BFI London Film Festival on Friday (October 21).
With his sad-eyed intensity and a towering physicality, almost like that of Frankenstein's monster, there's possibly no more mesmerizing American actor today than Michael Shannon. And his talents are put to exceptional use in this second collaboration after "Shotgun Stories" with director and writer Jeff Nichols.
Nichols has written a role tailored to the actor's particular gifts in Curtis LaForche, a family man, who is plagued by apocalyptic dreams and hallucinations which cause him to come to some irrational decisions to expand the family home's tornado shelter.
As an actor Shannon has had to immerse himself into a variety of dark roles. Being a father himself, Shannon has a young daughter with actress Kate Arrington, and this seems to have helped to approach his character's issues.
"Well I think the anxiety he has is a direct result of how much he cares about his family you know. If he was alone, if he didn't have a family, I don't think it would be as big a deal to him. I think the reason he's so frightened is that he might not be able to protect the people that he loves," Shannon said.
Despite some of the unsettling apocalyptic visions his character experiences, Shannon said at the end of the day he was able to leave the heavy psychological baggage back on set.
"I mean by the end of the day I was pretty tired and just wanted to go and have dinner and then go to bed you know we shot the movie very fast, four week shooting schedule so. A lot of time by the end of the day I just wanted to get a good night sleep."
Nichols message in the film is that fear has become an inescapable part of our world, and how family can endure, even in the face of disaster -- a sentiment Shannon shares when it comes to his own views on end-of-world theories.
"It seems like the world is pretty unstable right now. I mean, it's hard not to think that there is some danger you know, but you can't let it incapacitate you", he said.
"You have to find a way to carry on."
"Take Shelter" is released in UK cinemas on November 25. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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