Best known for playing the malevolent General Zod in “Man of Steel,” Oscar-nominee Michael Shannon now stars in Warner Bros. Pictures’ supernatural thriller “Midnight Special” as Roy, a peaceful and thoughtful man -- not prone to violence, but will nevertheless fight with everything he’s got when it matters.
Roy and his wife (Kirsten Dunst) were members of a cult, and within those confines their only son Alton was born. When the boy began to exhibit unique powers, the cult’s leader stepped in to “adopt” him, as such an extraordinary child couldn’t be raised by ordinary people. Alton’s mother was likely excommunicated for her protests, while Roy took a different tack: silently planning and waiting for a chance to break free with the boy. “From that moment,” director Jeff Nichols suggests, “his goal was to make sure Alton was okay. And when it became clear that Alton needed to be somewhere else, Roy was determined to get him there.
