Michael Shannon Threw Mike Myers Off His Acting Game On The Set Of Amsterdam
David O. Russell's upcoming murder mystery flick, "Amsterdam," has an absolutely stacked cast. With such stars as Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Rock, Timothy Olyphant, and many more set to appear, it's going to be extremely interesting to see how all of these pieces fit together in one film.
One of the more surprising pieces of casting done for the film has been Mike Myers, best known for his comedic work in films like "Wayne's World," "Austin Powers," and "Shrek." David O. Russell's films almost always have a comedic side to them, but Myers rarely exits the world of straight comedy to do acting anywhere close to serious. Myers is also known to be quite difficult to work with at times, but luckily that's a reputation that Russell himself shares. The casting was a bit risky for both of those reasons, but, having worked on the concept for this film for many years, one has to imagine Russell cast Myers very intentionally.
It makes sense then for Myers to have felt a bit out of his element acting amongst this all-star ensemble. In a recent press junket interview, Myers talked about how rewarding, yet intimidating, his working across from Michael Shannon was.
Look at this cast!
Michael Shannon, star of such films as "8 Mile" and "Pearl Harbor," is an extremely accomplished actor in a very different way than Myers. Shannon has been in films and television shows of every conceivable genre, from comedies to serious dramas to superhero movies.
Shannon, who has been getting a ton of work since his debut in "Groundhog's Day" in 1993, is as professional a professional as they come.
For Myers, the opportunity to share scenes with an actor as accomplished as Shannon, as well as the rest of the cast, was an experience so great that at times he was put off his game, as he shared at a recent press junket attended by /Film.
"I mean, look at this cast! I imagine what being at the Actor's Studio in the 1950's was like, I mean I got to watch all these acting styles. This guy [nods to Michael Shannon] is amazing, I would just watch him and then I would forget that it was my turn to talk next because, like, 'Jesus he's good, holy crap.' They're all just spectacular."
The cast of "Amsterdam" is quite the witches brew stirred together by Russell, and it will be very exciting to see how a strange ingredient like Mike Myers will change the whole concoction. The film will play in theaters starting October 7th.