Michael Shannon Burns Books in Fahrenheit 451

By Rhianna Davies-Cotter and James Mottram

You probably recognise Michael Shannon from his roles in Boardwalk Empire and The Shape of Water. Although he is only recently gaining mainstream attention, Shannon’s 20-year career includes roles of all sorts in film, TV and theatre. Shannon has been nominated for 2 Academy Awards and 3 Screen Actors Guild Awards. He is a frequent collaborator with writer/director Jeff Nichols and has appeared in all of his films, including Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter, Mud, Midnight Special and Loving.

Most recently, he appears in the telemovie Fahrenheit 451, a dystopian drama written and directed by Ramin Bahrani (who directed 99 Homes, which also co-stars Michael Shannon). The film is based on the book of the same name by Ray Bradbury, and was previously adapted by Francois Truffaut in 1966). The HBO movie also features Michael B. Jordan, Sofia Boutella, Lilly Singh, Grace Lynn Kung and Martin Donovan. The film is set in a future America, where books are outlawed and ‘firemen’ burn any books that are found.

Michael B. Jordan plays Montag, a young fireman who questions the oppressive society after he meets an intriguing young woman. Shannon plays ‘Fire Captain’ Beatty, Jordan’s mentor. Although Captain Beatty’s character may seem like the antagonist of the film, Shannon doesn’t see him this way. “He’s not the one enforcing the rules or the system,” says Shannon. “He’s trying to survive like everyone else in the story. He was brought up and trained to do a certain thing, and he’s doing it. None of these characters have a lot of options. If you want to be a rebel you have to be willing to sacrifice a great deal. And I think Captain Beatty has come up with a scenario where he can maintain his position and have a sort of secret personal life at night, when he writes in his office. I don’t think he has happiness, but it’s an existence that he can cope with. He’s very lonely, and for me the story of the character is his relationship with Montag. He talks about him like a brother – he’s finally found someone he can share his life experience with. And unfortunately, it doesn’t work out.”

Although the film is based on a novel, Bahrani has taken liberties to make the content feel more relevant in the 21st century. “Ramin has incorporated more technology,” Shannon muses. “It’s not enough to just burn books anymore, because culture and literature exist on so many other technological platforms.” The film is also critical of the over-sensitivity that is present in modern society. “I think Ramin believes that people are a little too sensitive these days. The bottom line is that people can be offended by a number of things, but there’s more value in trying to understand. Being offended by things is a simplistic reaction. You should try to understand why the thing exists in the first place.”

Bahrani has upped the grittiness, and this is one of Shannon’s favourite things about the adaptation. “I like the rawness of this version – it really cuts to the chase,” Shannon states. “It was pretty confronting burning the books. The whole thing was kind of like a fever dream. It’s a very surreal environment. But I knew it was an important part of the story and that we had to do it. And I think it was done in a powerful way. It couldn’t be avoided if we were going to tell the story.”

Shannon also liked the way Bahrani portrayed the character of Clarisse [Sofia Boutella]. “In the book, I found her a little too idealistic. Sofia is truly extraordinary. She communicates so much with her eyes and her face, she’s got a beautiful spirit and I think it really comes across. She was a great choice for Clarisse.”

Michael B. Jordan, flying high off Creed and Black Panther, and who plays Shannon’s protege in the film, also left a lasting impression. “He’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever worked with,” Shannon says. “He was very willing to go on the journey of this film. I think for him it’s something very different to the work he’s been doing previously. He had lots of trust in Ramin and he was fighting really hard to tell the story. He’s a great partner, he’s very easy to work with, he’s a great listener. I really like him a lot.”

Shannon also appreciated that his co-star is always up for a challenge. “I like a challenge, and I like to work with other people who challenge themselves. I think Ramin is like that, and Michael is like that too. I don’t think one should ever become too secure in their accomplishments, because that’s the death of progress… The more complex the character is, the more opportunity you have to explore and examine what you do and humanity in general. I think most actors look for that – a challenge, a new frontier. Something they haven’t explored before.”

This search for complexity often leads Shannon to play antagonistic characters. “A lot of people seem to think I always play ‘the bad guy’, but I don’t really see it this way. The world isn’t just light or dark. Life isn’t like that. It’s not one or the other. Even being here at this famous historic festival [Cannes], in this beautiful location, you can still have moments of doubt, uncertainty and anxiety. The dark stuff is always right behind you.”

Although you could say Shannon has achieved enough to leave this uncertainty behind, he doesn’t carry these achievements around with him. “I don’t know if I’ve proved anything really. There’s always somebody out there who’s like ‘that was terrible, you’re an asshole’ and that never goes away. I can’t just sit around and watch all the movies I’ve done and be like ‘wow, you’re incredible [laughs]’. That would be moronic.”

Instead of gloating about past achievements, Shannon likes to focus on what’s coming next. In this case, it’s a TV adaptation of another literature classic, John le Carre’s The Little Drummer Girl. “I’m playing Kurtz, who’s a Mossad agent in 1979 – which is why I have this ‘70s moustache [laughs about his appearance today]. The series is directed by one of the greatest directors of world cinema [Chan-wook Park], who is just an outstandingly kind and patient gentleman. He’s incredibly hard working, he never takes a day off. He shoots Monday through Friday, Saturday he does script meetings, Sunday he does shot lists. He literally works every day. I’m excited about this project – these days I like to make films that I feel will make people think. I don’t like the idea of people just escaping for an hour and a half, because there’s too much going on to just turn a blind eye to it.”