TheOscarsare the biggest night of the year for the movie industry, with the biggest names in Hollywood gathering to celebrate the best movies and performances of the year. Not everyone can make it to the big event though, such asMichael Shannon, who played a pivotal role in Best Picture winnerThe Shape of Water. As it turns out, the two-time Oscar-nominated actor watchedThe Shape of Waterwin the Best Picture Oscar from a Chicago dive bar known as the Old Town Ale House, as revealed in a photo of the actor shared by Chicago Times theater critic Chris Jones. Here’s what the critic had to say on Twitter yesterday.
“This image, per Facebook pal Bruce Elliott, is of Michael Shannon sitting in the Old Town Ale House last night watching the movie in which he starredwin Best Picture. No sound. Just the juke. This image tells you all ya need to know about the values of the Chicago theater.”
Michael Shannon was born in Lexington, Kentucky, but he was raised in Chicago, where he was one of the founding members of A Red Orchid Theater, which celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year. The actor had just wrapped his three-month run directing the new playTraitor, an adaptation of Heinrich Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People set in a North Chicago suburb. The play’s run ended on March 4, the night of the Oscars. He will also be starring in A Red Orchid’s summer production Victimes of Duty, written by Eugene Ionesco and directed by Shira Piven (Welcome to Me).
While Michael Shannon wasn’t nominated for his performance as Richard Strickland inThe Shape of Water, he does have twoOscar nominationsto his credit. His first nomination came in 2008, for his critically-acclaimed portrayal of John Givings inRevolutionary Road, which he lost to the late great Heath Ledger for his portrayal of The Joker inThe Dark Knight. The actor admitted in an interview last year that, after he lost, he proceeded to get rather drunk, which lead to him inexplicably slipping into a British accent while he was talking to hisRevolutionary Roadco-star Kate Winslet. He was also nominated last year for his portrayal of Bobby Andes inNocturnal Animals, although he lost toMoonlight’s Mahershala Ali.
Michael Shannon most recently starred in Warner Bros. war movie12 Strong, and he will next be seen inWhat They Had, alongside Hilary Swank and Taissa Farmiga, hitting theaters October 12, andState Like Sleepwith Luke Evans and Katherine Waterston, which doesn’t have a release date in place. It’s possible that Michael Shannon could also have an Emmy nomination or two in his future, with the actor coming off his role as FBI negotiator Gary Noesner in Paramount Network’s mini-seriesWaco, and his role as Beatty in the upcoming HBO movieFahrenheit 451. Take a look at this photo of Michael Shannon watching the Oscars from the Old Town Ale House, the self-proclaimed “Best Dive Bar In Chicago,” courtesy ofChris Jones' Twitter.
