'Man of Steel' star Michael Shannon 'not a huge fan of Superman'

Michael Shannon has said that he is not a huge fan of the Superman comics.

The Oscar-nominated star, who will play General Zod in the upcoming film Man of Steel, confessed that he doesn't understand the intense interest surrounding the Superman movie.

"There are legions of fans salivating, who will literally spend the next year and a half looking at the clock, waiting for this movie," Shannon told the Los Angeles Times.

"That's just the way it is. I don't know why. Me, personally, I'm not a huge fan. I can't even read comic books. I don't know which panel to look at next. I hardly ever know what any of the characters are talking about.

"So, no, I am not one of them. But there are a lot of them. They're out there. And they really want to talk to me about this movie!"

The actor went on to say that it is difficult to create a believable villain.

"It's hard to feel like you're not twirling your moustache when you're playing a villain," Shannon said. "Me and [director] Zack [Snyder] are constantly trying to bring as much variety and complexity as possible.

"He's very good about that. No matter what I come up with on the first take, he comes up with a good way to explore it and change it up to keep it interesting. You don't want it to be, 'I'm a bad guy. I hate you!'"

In October, Shannon confirmed that his character would have a fight with Russell Crowe's Jor-El.

The actor has said that he is nervous about playing General Zod in Man of Steel.

Watch Michael Shannon discuss Man of Steel with Digital Spy below: