But even as he has come of age and come into his own as a performer, the self-confessed film geek and musical autodidact isn't ashamed to maintain a few heroes. Chief among them is the great Michael Shannon, whose unnerving performances make him every actor's favorite actor. We invited Lerman, who was in New York putting his pants on after our shoot, to call Shannon, who was in New Orleans filming Jeff Nichols's sci-fi drama Midnight Special, and talk about his first time (on screen).