Oh My Zod: Michael Shannon Was Joking About Wearing Flippers in 'Batman v Superman'
Michael Shannon as General Zod in ‘Man of Steel’ (AP Photo/Warner Bros. Pictures)
Usually, when an actor is asked by a reporter for information about an upcoming comic book movie, they wink and speak in vague clichés, hoping to avoid divulging any secrets. Oscar nominee Michael Shannon, on the other hand, gives out the most insane details possible, then makes the situation even more confusing by saying he was kidding the whole time.
Last month, the 41-year-old actor told Vulture that he got stuck in a porta potty on the set of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice because he was wearing flippers on his hands as part of his General Zod costume. The Internet — we at Yahoo Movies included — ran wild with that bizarre little anecdote trying to figure out why the Kryptonian baddie, who died at the end of Man of Steel, was becoming part-dolphin. Turns out that all that speculation was maybe a waste of time: The Oscar-nominated actor now says he was just entertaining himself with absurdities, not giving away any actual BvS plot points.
“Somebody was asking me about this in New York and I made up some ridiculous bulls–t answer about how my character Zod has flippers, and this went viral on the Internet or something and people have been asking me about that,” Shannon, who stars in the upcoming drama 99 Homes, told The Daily Beast in a new interview. “That is so obviously a complete bulls–t story, right? But people took it seriously.”
As it turns out, Shannon says that he isn’t even really in the movie, beyond an appearance as a ghost, for which he did some voice work (though his appearance as a corpse in the film’s trailer may or may not indicate a bigger role than Shannon would admit). Even spilling that detail freaked a newly Shannon out.
“I don’t know if I’m supposed to say that,” he said. “I get very nervous.”
