Wondering whyMichael Shannonwasn’t at the Golden Globes to support his movieThe Shape of Water? Well, we now have an answer. He was a little too busy channeling his inner rock star by portrayingIggy Popon stage at a David Bowie tribute concert that took place over the weekend. Some footage and images from the performance have made their way online and it looks like he had himself a much more exciting evening performing as Iggy Pop.
Michael Shannon skipped the tuxedo that going to theGolden Globeswould have required. Instead, he decided to rock Iggy Pop’s signature shirtless look while playing on stage with theDavid Bowiecover band, Sons of the Silent Age, in Chicago. Shannon didn’t just jump on stage to casually sing a few Iggy Pop covers, mind you. In the videos online, we see him going absolutely crazy and doing his best to embody the eccentric and distinct Iggy Pop while rocking out with the band. Chris Connelly, vocalist for Sons of the Silent Age, had this to say in an interview about getting Michael Shannon for the gig ahead of the show.
“We wanted to incorporate that which, to any Bowie fanatic, is a really important step that he took. Bowie suddenly wasn’t playing in arenas anymore. You could go see him at the Marquee Club or whatever and Iggy Pop would be playing. And this was either just incredibly well calculated or it just happened to be when punk happened. In ‘77, Iggy sort of had this renaissance and went on tour and he was the badassgodfather of punk. And that’s what we’ve kind of asked Mike to be. And he’s definitely into the idea and I can’t imagine a better actor to do that.”
The gig focused onDavid Bowie’s Berlin days, which Iggy Pop was a big part of. In the footage from the show, we can see Michael Shannon coveringLust For Lifeand, possibly channeling his inner Christopher Walken as well, made very good use of a cowbell. Shannon could have just made a strong case for playing the legendary rocker in a biopic one day with this performance.
Even thoughThe Shape of Waterwas nominated for several awards at the Golden Globes, with Guillermo Del Toro winning best director, Michael Shannon seems like the kind of guy who does what he wants to do. He may star in high-profile movies likeMan of Steelfrom time to time, but one look at his IMDB page reveals that he seems to be much more interested in doing projects he finds compelling. Like playing Iggy Pop at a David Bowie tribute show instead of galavanting around a Hollywood awards show. Be sure to check out the video of Shannon as Iggy Pop, as well as a high-resolution photo of him, courtesy ofMetro Chicago, for yourself below.
