Michael Shannon & Matthew Macfadyen Get Recognized for the Wrong Roles | Inquiring Minds | Esquire - video Dailymotion

Esquire

Matthew Macfadyen and Michael Shannon bring sharp humor and dry wit to this episode of “Inquiring Minds.” The ‘Death by Lightning’ co-stars swap stories about the roles that shifted their careers, the lies they've told in auditions, and the pressure of portraying real people. Watch as the duo agree that 'Kangaroo Jack' might just be Michael’s finest work and debate whether Matthew gets recognized more for ‘Succession’ or ‘Pride and Prejudice.’  Stream ‘Death by Lightning’ on Netflix.  #MatthewMacfadyen #MichaelShannon #DeathbyLightning #InquiringMinds #Esquire

Transcript

00:00Hobby that would surprise some people.

00:01Balloon animals.

00:03Stop!

00:04I won't stop.

00:05Hi, I'm Matthew McVadden.

00:06And I'm Michael Shannon.

00:07And this is Inquiring Minds.

00:09With Esquire.

00:11Where do you get off with this attitude?

00:13Is that the real?

00:15No, which of your roles do people bring up the most?

00:20Probably Tom.

00:22Yeah.

00:23Not Dick and Harry?

00:24Not yet.

00:25Do you remember the first time that someone called you Mr. Darcy?

00:29Yeah, that happens occasionally and I'm always quite pleased, secretly, because it means

00:34I can't be aging that badly.

00:36You're still a sexy boy.

00:3720 years.

00:38Well, nice of you to say so.

00:40Yeah.

00:41But usually it's Tom.

00:42Tom!

00:43Or some people say, Greg!

00:45Or some people say, well done on billions.

00:48Ooh.

00:49Yeah.

00:50What do you want people to be shouting at you on the street?

00:53I don't want anybody to be shouting anything at me ever.

00:56Really?

00:57No.

00:58What's the most ridiculous lie you've ever told to get out of something?

01:01I don't mean to be obstinate, but I don't really know.

01:05You don't lie.

01:06I once told someone I could ride a horse for a job.

01:10Oh.

01:11And I couldn't.

01:12That was...

01:13You couldn't?

01:14No.

01:15Yeah, you usually lie to get into something.

01:16Yeah, or I said I can play a musical instrument.

01:17I can speak Russian.

01:18Yeah, I can play the harp.

01:19I can make a sandwich.

01:21Mmm.

01:22Yeah.

01:23Which role transformed your career?

01:25I don't know.

01:26I think the trick maybe with an actor is to try and keep working and going.

01:30And then it's like you're busy for as long as possible.

01:33Then sometimes you catch a little wave.

01:36One wave was Pride and Prejudice.

01:38But then again, I didn't really work for a year after that.

01:40That's so weird.

01:41Yeah.

01:42I'm so dashing.

01:43I find it difficult to look at my career with any kind of clarity or I feel like I'm

01:47just bumbling along.

01:48For me, it was Kangaroo Jack.

01:50Come all the way down here to the sphincter of the galaxy to straighten out this puked up

01:55fur ball of a mess.

01:56Okay.

01:57Yeah, yeah.

01:58It's like a catapult.

01:59Yeah, yeah, yeah.

02:00The pre-Kangaroo Jack was like...

02:03Like this.

02:04Yeah.

02:05Into the public.

02:06Yeah.

02:07Yeah.

02:08Like that.

02:09Is there another actor you're often mistaken for?

02:12Willem Dafoe.

02:13Interesting.

02:14And the fellow who played Jaws in the James Bond movies.

02:17Yeah, yeah, yeah.

02:18Richard Keel.

02:19I was at a restaurant in London.

02:20I was sitting there all by myself.

02:23There was a big table, a bunch of lads.

02:26One of the guys at the table, he had his phone out and he was pointing at his friend.

02:30He was pointing at me and he was like, yeah, the guy from James Bond.

02:34And I said, yeah, his name's Richard Keel.

02:37Did you?

02:38The whole restaurant went silent.

02:39Good for you.

02:40And then he came up and he's like, I'm sorry.

02:43I'm sorry.

02:44I'm like, you idiot.

02:45You're five feet away from me.

02:46Yeah.

02:47You think I'm not going to notice you doing this?

02:50Which scene from Succession still sticks with you?

02:53Probably pelting Nick Braun, who played Cousin Greg with water bottles in the Panic Room.

02:58Just because it was a lot of fun.

03:00Yeah, I imagine.

03:01Yeah.

03:02Your favorite episode?

03:03Probably the one where Logan's demise on the private jet.

03:08But too many to mention.

03:10What led to your dramatic reading of the Delta Gamma letter?

03:13I don't even understand what the question means.

03:15So I read this sorority letter on Funny or Die.

03:18It's actually probably the thing that people most enjoy that I've done.

03:23Okay.

03:24You go.

03:25You.

03:26Don't.

03:27Go.

03:28I was just going out there to do a press junket with my publicist Brenna.

03:35We were riding along in the car and Brenna said, did you hear about this sorority letter?

03:41This woman had written a letter that was crazy and got her in a lot of trouble.

03:46Had a lot of vulgar language in it.

03:48You especially do fucking not convince other girls to leave with you.

03:55She said, well, Funny or Die wants you to perform it.

03:59And I said, well, it's not really my wheelhouse.

04:02I was never in a sorority, but I'm a whore and I'll do anything for a laugh.

04:06So I went and did it.

04:08This is available to watch online at any time.

04:11Any human being can watch this performance.

04:15What is your strangest fan interaction to date?

04:18I was doing a spy show a long time ago in the UK.

04:21And it was my wife and I actually were in a department store.

04:23We were both in the spy show.

04:25We were at the counter and this guy was showing us off.

04:27And he very quietly said, I've applied to join.

04:31We were like, what?

04:32He said, I've applied to join MI5, which is like the FBI or whatever.

04:38We were like, oh, great.

04:40Good luck.

04:41That's fantastic.

04:42Yeah.

04:43But I think he really thought we were spies.

04:46Oh.

04:47Just buying some, yeah, in the electrical department.

04:49Which of your characters, Michael Shannon, would you most want to have a drink with?

04:53I don't drink.

04:54Where you can drink, like, have a glass of milk.

04:57Hot cocoa?

04:58Yeah.

04:59Well, Elvis.

05:00Mr. Garfield, President Garfield.

05:03I would have actually really loved to have met him.

05:06I really admire him.

05:07I could probably skip Richard Kuklinski, the Iceman.

05:11He was pretty terrifying.

05:13General Zod doesn't drink.

05:15General Zod doesn't drink, but he does a lot of heroin.

05:20Matthew, how is it different playing a real person versus a fictional one?

05:24Sometimes it's quite pressurized, especially if the person you're playing is still alive.

05:29But when they're not, it's sort of easier.

05:31Unless everybody really knows what they look like and how they sounded, and there's lots

05:34of visual references.

05:36Like this one that we've just done, I feel a little less pressure because nobody really

05:39knows what Charles Guiteau looked like.

05:41Ooh, the fuck is Charles Guiteau?

05:43But you played a lot of real people.

05:46I played Elvis once.

05:47Yeah, that's a big deal.

05:48That was no pressure.

05:50How was he different than Garfield?

05:53The cat?

05:54James Garfield.

05:56Oh, it's funny actually.

05:58Somebody asked me the other day if I had any clips to draw on, and I said, no.

06:04President Garfield predated YouTube.

06:07Nothing to watch.

06:08Nothing to watch.

06:09Was there a note while shooting this show that really stuck with you?

06:14Are you going to talk like that?

06:15Are you going to do it like that?

06:17Yeah.

06:18What can I do for you, Mr. Guiteau?

06:20My name's Guiteau.

06:21That stuck with me.

06:23Remember, he's a president.

06:27Who's an actor you've always wanted to work with but haven't yet?

06:31Well, that's already been solved, right?

06:34Well, yeah, this is it.

06:35My prayers have been answered, yeah.

06:37There was a whole clutch of actors when I was growing up that I really, really admired.

06:42Daniel Day-Lewis, who I wrote to actually.

06:44Oh, really?

06:45Yeah, I wrote him a note.

06:46He's the only actor I've ever written to.

06:47What did you say?

06:48I'd just seen There Will Be Blood, but I'd sort of grown up with him.

06:51Then about three or four months later, I got this beautiful handwritten letter back.

06:55I've still got it somewhere.

06:56Oh, wow.

06:57Yeah.

06:58But there's lots of young actors I really like now.

07:00Florence Pugh is brilliant.

07:01Paul Mescal.

07:02I worked with Florence.

07:03Brilliant.

07:04Brilliant.

07:05Who would you want to play you in the biopic about your life?

07:09You busy?

07:10No.

07:11I'm available.

07:12It's a dark story.

07:13Yeah, I can imagine.

07:14In this rapid round, we'll have 30 seconds to sound off.

07:18Let's go.

07:19One meal you could eat every day.

07:21Fish and chips.

07:22Song you'll never get sick of?

07:23Life during wartime.

07:24First concert you went to?

07:26Peter Gabriel.

07:27Driver's seat or passenger princess?

07:29Passenger princess.

07:30Something you own way too many of?

07:32Watches.

07:33Hobby that would surprise some people.

07:34Balloon animals.

07:35Stop!

07:36I won't stop.

07:37Favorite prop you've taken from a set?

07:39A knife.

07:40Perform on stage or on screen?

07:42Perform on stage.

07:43Mr. Darcy or Tom Lamskins?

07:45Tom.

07:46One actor who can do no wrong?

07:48Matthew McFadden.

07:49Beautiful.

07:50Thanks for watching.

07:52And now please watch...

07:53Death by Lightning.

07:55On Netflix.

Michael Shannon & Matthew Macfadyen Get Recognized for the Wrong Roles | Inquiring Minds | Esquire

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