Michael Shannon is Oscar tipped for new film 99 Homes and compared to Donald Trump

ACTOR Michael Shannon’s latest movie has earned Oscar buzz and comparisons to presidential wannabe Donald Trump. Is he happy?

BEFORE he was an Oscar nominated actor (Revolutionary Road) and before he had the kind of stature that makes for a first-choice movie villain (Man Of Steel), Michael Shannon was a gangster hot on the trail of two doofuses and an animated kangaroo.

Few now would remember Shannon’s part in the 2003 Jerry Bruckheimer “blockbuster” Kangaroo Jack.

But at least the Kentucky-raised actor has fond recollections of making the film Down Under.

“I was in Australia for three months in 2001 — a month in Sydney and two months in Alice Springs. I went to Uluru and the whole nine yards,” Shannon says.

A head-scratching run of movie jobs ... Michael Shannon stars alongside Seth Rogen in twisted Christmas movie The Night Before, which opens in Australia on December 3. Picture: Sony Pictures

“I had a wonderful time. The two fellas that played my henchmen in the movie were both from Melbourne and we spent a lot of time together, they were lovely guys. We played a lot of tennis.”

There’s little time for sightseeing or tennis in Shannon’s schedule these days. He is, he says, “the busiest I’ve ever been”.

“I had this stretch recently where I did six movies in eight months. I’m still kind of scratching my head trying to figure out how that is even possible. Honestly, I do say ‘no’ sometimes.”

Not a laugh ... Garfield and Shannon keep it real and gritty in the hard-hitting 99 Homes. Picture: Madman

It’s not hard to see why Shannon is in such demand when witnessing his performance in post-GFC drama 99 Homes — a performance that, once again, has the 41-year-old high on the “Oscar predictions” list.

Shannon is Rick, a callous real estate agent cashing in on America’s subprime mortgage crisis by evicting families from their homes, then double-dipping from the banks and government.

Andrew Garfield plays the young father who, after his own eviction, does a deal with the devil and becomes Rick’s protege.

While such dirty work would be just too dirty for some, Shannon relished creating a character whose waters ran deep and murky.

“In an odd way, not to belittle the gravity of the situation, I quite enjoyed playing Rick,” Shannon says. “He was a complex character with a lot of depth. And I really loved the dialogue, so I was able to enjoy saying it even though, at times, I objected to Rick’s morality.

Worked hard to get where he is ... Shannon with fellow indie actors Sarah Silverman and Patricia Clarkson at a film party in Los Angeles this week. Picture: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images

“Like Rick says in the movie, nobody in their right mind would enjoy evicting somebody from their house. But I don’t think Rick accepts the notion that people are victims. The fact of the matter is, some people in this situation have made dubious choices, bitten off more than they can chew and fallen behind. From Rick’s point of view, it’s not up to the rest of the world to save them.”

It’s this latter quality — and quotes like “America doesn’t bail out the losers” — that has seen Rick likened to US presidential wannabe Donald Trump.

It’s not a comparison Shannon is particularly willing to wear.

“Donald Trump is in a very rarefied position — I don’t think he gets out and rubs elbows with the common folk very often; I don’t think Donald Trump would do an eviction from one of his buildings,” the actor says.

“Whereas Rick goes to work every day and is confronted with people from all walks of life that are suffering and he has to clean up the mess. I don’t think Donald Trump cleans up the mess. I don’t know how aware Donald Trump even is of the mess ...”

... and Donald Trump on the campaign trail. Picture: Joe Raedle / Getty Images / AFP

One of these things is not like the other: Michael Shannon as 99 Homes’s Rick ... Picture: Madman

There is no arguing with Shannon’s work ethic: he’s done the hard yards to get himself from guy No. 18 on the credits list to star at No. 1 or 2.

“Oh boy. It happened so gradually,” he says, searching for an explanation as to how he pulled it off.

“I think I hit 17, 16, 14, 10, 9, 7, 5 ... along the way, you know? I’ve just been doing this a long time, 25 years. I always show up ready to help. And I don’t think you could find a director that would say I was a pain in the ass to work with ... That probably helps.”

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