Writer-director Jeff Nichols believes he “owes (his) career” to his frequent collaborator Michael Shannon.

The filmmaker cast the Revolutionary Road actor in the lead role in his 2007 feature directorial debut Shotgun Stories and they have since worked together on all of Nichols’ subsequent movies: Take Shelter, Mud, Midnight Special, Loving and The Bikeriders.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Nichols heaped praise on his regular collaborator, insisting he has become the filmmaker he is today by directing Shannon for almost 20 years.

“He is not just a collaborator; he has become family to me. I owe my career to Michael Shannon,” he gushed. “I learned how to direct from directing Michael Shannon.”

When asked if he casts the Nocturnal Animals actor in all of his movies as a “matter of superstition”, Nichols stated that he simply can’t resist working with him.

“From the outside, it can feel kind of cute, but it’s not. I love that guy, and I want him in movies because he’s the greatest actor in the world,” he continued. “And if you’re a director and you have access to the greatest actor in the world, it makes sense that you would call him all the time.”

Shannon played the leads in Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter and Midnight Special but has substantially smaller roles in Mud, Loving and Nichols’ latest film, The Bikeriders.

In the crime drama, Shannon plays Zipco, a members of the Vandals motorcycle club run by Tom Hardy and Austin Butler’s characters.

The Bikeriders is in cinemas now.

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