MICHAEL SHANNON - SHANNON GLAD HE CHOSE OSCAR FILM OVER PLAY

SHANNON GLAD HE CHOSE OSCAR FILM OVER PLAY

Oscar-nominated actor MICHAEL SHANNON is glad he chose to sign on to new movie REVOLUTIONARY ROAD - because he nearly gave up the role to perform a play in Chicago, Illinois.
The Kentucky-born star received a Best Supporting Actor nod from the Academy Awards board on Thursday (22Jan09) for his role in the Sam Mendes-directed drama.
But Shannon came close to turning down the part when he was offered the chance to star in Tracy Letts' Tony Award winning play, August: Osage County, in Chicago, Illinois at the same time.
Shannon tells the Chicago Sun Times, "When given the choice between a film role and doing a play, very rarely do I pick the movie. Nine times out of 10, I go with the play.
"But these two projects totally overlapped, and I'm such a huge fan of the Richard Yates book (which inspired Revolutionary Road). So I had to go with the film. Plus, when I read the book, that character (former mental patient John Givings) stuck out for me, as it does for a lot of people."
And Shannon knows he made the right choice - because he is delighted with his Oscar nomination.
He adds, "I really was shocked. I felt a little punch-drunk when I got the call (about the nomination) at about 6am. But it didn't take long for me to feel pretty good."
Shannon will compete against Robert Downey Jr., Philip Seymour Hoffman, Heath Ledger and Josh Brolin at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles on February 22.