I know this'll sound obnoxious, but acting was very much an accident for me. I didn't have, like, posters of Marlon Brando… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
I never went into acting to be able to scare everybody. If I'd wanted to frighten people, I could have joined the… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
That's one of the great things about acting - you get to pretend you're somebody else, which is great if you get… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
Honestly, as hard a profession as acting is, I think music is even harder. Acting, you're like a leech, because someone else… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
One of the reasons I got into acting to begin with is that I was trying to figure out how life worked.… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
I have been acting for over 20 years and I started in the smallest little theater that you can possibly imagine and… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
I guess if there's one thing that might surprise people about me, it's that I'm very obedient. I'm kind of like a… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
I started acting because I was miserable and crazy and wanted to be someone else, to run around and scream in front… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
One of the great things about acting is you can do things that in real life would get you in trouble. I… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
Humility in this business [acting] isn't just a matter of being polite, it's kind of a matter of survival. You can't ever… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
This whole notion of the acting career as a monopoly where you rise to power... it doesn't really work that way. I… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
I like to play characters that get to do it all - to have a bit of comedy here and a bit of pathos… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
A lot of times people will send me stuff. They will find something and they will send it to me and then I will… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
The most fascinating part of movies is the organism of the movie - it's such a bizarre thing to do, to make a movie.… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
One of the reasons I got into acting to begin with is that I was trying to figure out how life worked. It was… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
Theater is the best. That's where you get the work done. You just really get in there and figure something out about a story… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
I've never worried about anything in my life a fraction of the way I worry about my daughter. It's much more than hoping people… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
A lot of times the characters I play tend to be kind of loners or they don't have best friends or best buddies. — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
The stage is a routine. It keeps you grounded, like a metronome. I find that soothing. — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
If you are going to be on TV for however many years, you want to make sure that you have writers that are giving… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
I've always been happy just to be working. It doesn't really matter for me how many people are familiar with my name or my… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
When you see a struggle that you may be having personally put on a big screen and in a roomful of people, then it… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
I certainly don't want to have too many pre-conceived notions before I show up because then you might be cutting yourself off from the… — Michael Shannon Copy Share Image
![“Humility in this business [acting] isn't just a matter of being polite, it's kind of a matter of survival. You can't ever afford to think that you're the bee's knees, because you could always afford to be better. You have to always be searching for something better.” quote by Michael Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c2d/michael-shannon-9158_acting_humility-in-this-business-acting-isn-t-j_2820683.jpg)
