For the fictional retelling of the real-life serial killer Richard Kuklinski in 2012’s The Iceman, Michal Shannon, and Winona Ryder had pretty different ways to approach their respective roles. While Shannon, who played the infamous serial killer, spent time absorbing Kuklinski’s interviews, Ryder, who played his wife, found these interviews disturbing and had to turn them off.
However, she had no issues with the actor playing the disturbing killer as the Beetlejuice Star showered Shannon with laudation, putting him up with the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis and Gary Oldman. But Ryder did shed tears for real during her time with Shannon in the crime drama following the Man of Steel Star’s prowess in the role.
Michael Shannon Left Winona Ryder in Tears After Storming Out of the Room
While Michael Shannon and Winona Ryder had the utmost respect for each other on sets and enjoyed their time together filming the drama, there were occasions when she was petrified of him. The Stranger Things Star recalled one such incident that occurred during the verbal altercation scene between the two characters, which ends with Shannon’s Kuklinski storming out of the room. Per Ryder, much of the scene’s ending was improvised by Shannon, and his fury caught her by surprise, which ended up leaving the actress crying. She told Young Hollywood:
“He made it frightening sometimes. In one scene, where we argue and he storms out of the room, the script just says, ‘Michael leaves the room and goes to the garage, but when he left the room he was furious and he knocked things over and pushed everything off the table. I was honestly scared, and afterwards, I even started crying. It was all unexpected, which made the reaction much more real,”
But Michael Shannon’s brilliance in the role was nothing short of inspiration for the Edward Scissorhands Star, which reminded her of “why I wanted to be an actor in the first place”.
Michael Shannon Didn’t Have to Put Much Effort for His Chemistry With Winona Ryder
Like Winona Ryder, Michael Shannon had nothing but adoration for his costar, stating that she was perfect. And while Reflecting on their intangible chemistry in The Iceman, the MOS Star explained that they didn’t have to put a lot of effort into it, as it was all natural. Speaking with Yahoo!, he said,
“I felt like all my scenes with her, I could just sit and talk and listen. There wasn’t a huge effort to try and make something happen. Chemistry is weird. You don’t know where it comes from or why it happens, but you just have it with some people and I felt that with her,”
Despite their contrasting approach to the material, both did their job to perfection and although The Iceman had its fair share of flaws, their performance alone ensured an enjoyable time for the fans.
The Iceman is available to stream on Peacock.
