Michael Shannon not allowed 'near a motorcycle' on The Bikeriders set

Michael Shannon "wasn't allowed to get near a motorcycle" on the set of 'The Bikeriders'.

The 49-year-old star was one of the few actors who opted not to learn how to ride for Jeff Nichols' new movie, which also stars Austin Butler, Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy.

The director laughed on the 'ReelBlend' podcast: “To be honest, all of them had to go through training. Now, some guys took to it better than others. Sadly, for everyone, Michael Shannon wasn’t allowed to get near a motorcycle. We barely let him lean on a motorcycle."

The filmmaker previously worked with the actor on 2016 sci-fi saga 'Midnight Special', where Michael's lack of experience behind the wheel was also an issue.

He continued: “You know, when we made 'Midnight Special', he didn’t even have a driver’s license.

“It was like, we gotta teach Mike how to drive in this chase scene.

“I mean, he’s great. He’s obviously a genius and super talented, so I imagine, had we put him on a bike, he would have learned it very quickly. But that was one of the first questions he asked, he was like, ‘I don’t have to learn how to ride, do I?'”

While Michael didn't want to get on a bike, co-star Austin has always been a fan of motorcycles thanks to his dad.

He recently told People magazine: "My dad rode motorcycles, so I think... It's been cool to get to talk about my dad a lot recently because he gave me that first love of motorcycles."

The 'Elvis' actor narrowly avoided serious injury when he came off his motorbike during filming.

He said: “We were doing a night shoot and hit a patch of wet leaves and I went down, but I thankfully landed on my feet.

“All I was thinking about was the bike, though. I just wanted to make sure that it was okay.”