Michael Shannon watched the Oscars Sunday night at a famed Chicago dive bar as the film he starred in won the award for Best Picture.
Shannon, the actor and Chicagoan, wore a black winter jacket and gripped a pint glass while looking up at the barroom’s television screen. A photo of the moment was snapped by the storied North Avenue watering hole's owner and resident artist Bruce Elliott. He shared that photo on Twitter.
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“The Shape of Water” is a romance about a mute woman and a sea creature. It earned another three other Academy Awards Sunday, including Best Director for Guillermo Del Toro. Shannon plays the antagonist, a U.S. military man in charge of the operation keeping the monster in captivity to be studied.
“I don't recall ever seeing a picture that so vividly expresses acting in Chicago, and refusing to let Hollywood change you,” Chicago Tribune critic Chris Jones wrote of the photo. “Just as no condo development nor technological trend ever has changed this bar.”
Speaking of quintessential Chicago, the photo shows a North Avenue street sign above Shannon's head and Malort is listed on the $5 shot list, Jones noted.
The Old Town Ale House confirmed to NBC Chicago that Shannon was in fact perched on one of its barstools during the awards show Sunday night.
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The Tribune reports Shannon had just closed “Traitor,” a play he directed at A Red Orchid Theatre, just a short walk from the bar.
