{"id":828,"date":"2026-05-27T18:18:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T18:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=828"},"modified":"2026-05-27T18:18:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T18:18:50","slug":"dont-forget-about-michael-shannons-emmy-worthy-performance-in-death-by-lightning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=828","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Forget About: Michael Shannon\u2019s Emmy-Worthy Performance in \u2018Death by Lightning\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tThe irony of writing a piece for Variety\u2019s<\/em> Don\u2019t Forget About series about an actor playing President James Garfield is not lost on me. Often relegated to a footnote in U.S. history, Garfield was president barely six months before he died after being shot by Charles Guiteau in 1881.<\/p>\n

In the Netflix limited series \u201cDeath by Lightning,\u201d Michael Shannon rips the oft-overlooked president from the history books and brings him to life in fine fashion. Shannon, who has delivered unforgettable performances in films like \u201cNocturnal Animals,\u201d \u201cThe Shape of Water,\u201d \u201cTake Shelter\u201d and \u201cRevolutionary Road,\u201d plays Garfield with quiet dignity and strength. At a time when many are clamoring for more civility in politics, Shannon sees Garfield as \u201cwish fulfillment in the form of television.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what everybody wants, isn\u2019t it? A decent man?\u201d says Shannon. \u201cI hear all this bellyaching about these criminals and insane people that are running everything. Everybody\u2019s fantasizing about having a decent person to call the shots, so here you go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shannon says that he is grateful that Garfield\u2019s story is being told, as the post-Civil War, pre-World War I period of American history is often overlooked. He also wants to see Garfield recognized for his accomplishments, like working to establish what would become the Dept. of Education.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe got the ball rolling on that,\u201d Shannon says. \u201cHe believed that to have a free and equal society, everyone had to have an education. It\u2019s a beautiful thing. Now, unfortunately, we\u2019re seeing it be dismantled.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he admits that \u201cDeath by Lightning\u201d is a not a completely unbiased portrayal of Garfield, the actor believes that there is much to learn from the late president\u2019s story, including the ideals of service and self-sacrifice.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe started at the bottom. It\u2019s not BS. It\u2019s not some story somebody made up. It\u2019s what happened,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen he met Crete, his wife, she was a student at a school where he was the janitor. A guy like that, I think he understands what\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDeath by Lightning\u201d largely focuses on the struggles Garfield faced during his presidency in trying to overcome the influence of Senator Roscoe Conkling. It was a period marked by corruption, influence peddling and partisan infighting.<\/p>\n

The similarities to today\u2019s political environment are clear to Shannon.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my favorite songs has a line in it that goes \u2018Our president\u2019s crazy. Did you hear what he said?\u2019 The song was recorded in the early \u201980s and it\u2019s basically been true since before the song was recorded, when the song was recorded and now many years after the song was recorded,\u201d he says. \u201cThis idea that the president is crazy \u2014 there are people who thought Garfield was crazy. It\u2019s easy to forget that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shannon is surrounded by a murderer\u2019s row of talent in \u201cDeath by Lightning,\u201d including Betty Gilpin, Nick Offerman and Shea Whigham.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s the parallelism the show establishes between Garfield and Guiteau (played expertly by Matthew Macfadyen) that drives the narrative forward. While Garfield\u2019s story \u2014 Civil War veteran, farmer, reluctant president \u2014 is the stuff of the American Dream, Guiteau\u2019s penchant for delusion and self-aggrandizement is clearly an American Nightmare.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a fork in the road that a lot of people find themselves at,\u201d Shannon says. \u201cThat\u2019s where the self-sacrifice, dedication, the idea of service \u2014 I think people wind up heading toward the nightmare because they think too much about themselves and their own gratification. That can\u2019t help but lead to a nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more The Chicks Are Ready to Make Tour Plans, With \u2018Taking the Long Way\u2019 20th Anniversary Theater Outing Set for Fall<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Variety spoke with Michael Shannon about his award-worthy turn in the Netflix limited series “Death by Lightning”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[833],"tags":[834,220,835],"class_list":["post-828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-awards","tag-death-by-lightning","tag-emmys","tag-michael-shannon"],"yoast_head":"\nDon\u2019t Forget About: Michael Shannon\u2019s Emmy-Worthy Performance in \u2018Death by Lightning\u2019 - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=828\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Don\u2019t Forget About: Michael Shannon\u2019s Emmy-Worthy Performance in \u2018Death by Lightning\u2019 - 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