LEXINGTON, Ky. — Cincinnati has Sarah Jessica Parker. Louisville has Jennifer Lawrence. And Lexington has Michael Shannon.

Shannon, the Academy Award nominated actor, was born in Lexington on Aug. 7, 1974, to parents Donald Sutherlin Shannon, an accounting professor, and Geraldine Hine, an attorney. After his parents’ divorce, Shannon split his time between Lexington and Chicago, graduating from Henry Clay High School, but Lexington is where he got his start in acting.

After participating in Lexington Children’s Theater Summer Camp, he moved back to Chicago and performed on stage in several productions, including the role of Peter Evans in “Bug” in 1996. He would later play the same role in the film adaptation.

Since then, he’s appeared in a number of films, including “Groundhog Day,” “Pearl Harbor,” “8 Mile,” “Vanilla Sky” and “Revolutionary Road.” The last movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, where Shannon plays the son of Kathy Bates, who has been in a psychiatric hospital.

The performance won him a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor in a motion picture, as well as an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor.

Other award nominations soon followed, including a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actor and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role for “99 Homes,” and another Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor in “Nocturnal Animals” with Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Lots of people recognize him, he has said, they just don’t know where from.

“Inevitably, what happens is that people come up to me and they’re like ‘You’ve been in a movie. Which one was it?’” he told an interviewer once. “I’m like ‘Well, I’ve been in more than one. I’ve been in a few.’ And they say, ‘Well, tell me one. Tell me one I know.’ And I know if I say ‘8 Mile’ or ‘Bad Boys II,’ I can bring the conversation to a close. Inevitably, it’s one of those two.”

He’s also worked in television, starring as a federal prohibition agent in the HBO series “Boardwalk Empire,” and as a grieving father in the Hulu miniseries “Nine Perfect Strangers.”

In 2011, he starred in the drama “Take Shelter” and won a Saturn Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of a father who has dreams of an impending storm.

For superhero fans, he’s probably best known as General Zod in both the “Man of Steel” movie and “The Flash.” For fans of drama, he’s known best for his role as Col. Richard Strickland in “The Shape of Water,” and for fans of fun murder mysteries, he’s recognizable for his role as Walt Thrombey in “Knives Out.”

In total, Shannon has appeared in more than 70 movies, 10 television shows and numerous stage productions, and has 36 awards for his work and more than 100 nominations.

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