Michael Shannon on Finally Getting His Big Courtroom Drama with 'Nuremberg,' His Next R.E.M. Tour, and Playing Bill Parcells

"Michael Shannon can be a prankster, particularly during interviews conducted over the phone. I know this, because I've seen him do it. Before an in-person interview for Jeff Nichols' "Midnight Special," I witnessed him end what seemed like a cordial phone interview, only to do a bit as he hung up in which he said a few disparaging things about the outlet's home city that they "weren't supposed to hear," just to see what happened."

"The last time I asked the actor about this, he explained, "I didn't have to sell it with my face, just my voice." This time around? We're doing a phone interview. This interview was supposed to happen in-person at the Toronto International Film Festival, but schedules didn't work out and it later became what industry insiders call "a phoner." Still, Shannon promised, no pranks this time, because the movie at hand is too important."

"But! One of the interesting things about James Vanderbilt's film, which features Shannon as Supreme Court justice Robert Jackson after he's tapped to prosecute the living hierarchy of the Nazi party after World War II (including a disturbingly charming performance from Russell Crowe as Herman Gf6ring, the highest-ranking living Nazi), is the humor. As Shannon stresses, he's human. He has to figure out how to navigate setting this trial up, involving multiple countries, and then not losing. This involves working with psychiatrist Douglas Kelly (Rami Malek), who has been analyzing the captured Nazis, and navigating where the boundaries are between doctor-patient privilege and, well, just not caring, because they are some of the worst people who have ever lived."

Michael Shannon often performs pranks during phone interviews but agreed to avoid them for his role in Nuremberg. He plays Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, tasked with prosecuting top Nazi leaders at the postwar Nuremberg trials. The film features Russell Crowe as Hermann Gf6ring and Rami Malek as psychiatrist Douglas Kelly, who evaluates captured Nazis. The story focuses on logistical and legal challenges of assembling a multinational prosecution, the ethical limits of psychiatric privilege, and the human complexity and darkly humorous moments that emerge as Jackson pursues convictions.

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