I Had To Ask Michael Shannon About Why He Chose Such A Cool But Lesser-Known President Like Garfield For His Latest Role

Cinema Blend

The streaming wars are in full effect, and those with a Netflix subscription have been treated to a variety of originals. There's a new Netflix show to binge watch with Mike Makowsky's Death by Lightning, which just released its four-episode season. The show stars Michael Shannon as ill-fated US President James A. Garfield, and the actor explained to CinemaBlend what got him to take on that role.  Plenty of folks are excited about Death By Lightning, as it tells a lesser-known story about how James Garfield was unwillingly elevated to the role of President before being killed by Charles J. Guiteau (played by Succession star Matthew Macfayden). As you can see in the video above, I spoke with the show's two stars, and asked Shannon what appealed to him about playing the 20th President.

Transcript

00:00The idea of someone, a politician, not wanting power and not wanting to be president seemed very foreign.

00:09Why do you think that was the time to tell this particular story?

00:13Well, first of all, you shouldn't feel so alone in not knowing much about it.

00:18I don't think many people know much about President Garfield.

00:23Unfortunately, I didn't know much about President Garfield.

00:26So I felt so grateful to get this opportunity to lead people towards him because I think he's a very remarkable person.

00:38You know, the more research I did, the more I just fell in love with the guy.

00:43You know, the idea is that these people are public servants, civil servants.

00:48They're not kings. They're not. It's not about having control or power.

00:53You're really supposed to be trying to make America a better place.

01:00And I think Garfield believed that very deeply.

01:04I don't know why that all went the way of the cuckoo, but yeah, that was the original idea, I think.

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