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Michael Shannon was “tremendously flattered” when he received his first Emmy nomination this morning for George & Tammy. “I love all the jobs I work on, and I put a lot into the work I’ve done on television over the years,” he says. “But I feel like this one was a huge challenge, and the possibility of it not working out was very real. Jessica [Chastain]’s devotion and this unspoken bond we share got us through it somehow.” Shannon is nominated in the category of Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

Shannon plays George Jones alongside Jessica Chastain, who was also nominated for her role as Tammy Wynette. The pair worked together on the 2011 film Take Shelter, which he says is “probably my favorite thing I’ve ever done, or the thing I’m most passionate about.”

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Sometimes fear can be just as strong a motivator as love. That was the case for Showtime’s George & Tammy music producer and engineer Rachael Moore.

Under the influence and recommendation of musical legend T Bone Burnett, who served as a consultant on the Showtime series, Moore took the leap of faith. “He’s a dear mentor of mine,” Moore said about her relationship with Burnett. “I was a protégé of his, he really encouraged me to take this one, and I did.”

But what really made her say yes? “I had to – I couldn’t say no,” she said. “I was scared, so I had to.”

As a longtime resident of Nashville, aka the Country Music Capital of the World, Moore felt she was obligated to be a part of a series that spotlighted one of the biggest power couples in the genre’s history.

“I’ve been in...

“I guess they’re polar opposites,” says Michael Shannon while discussing his two Showtime series, “George and Tammy” and “Waco: The Aftermath.” “One’s a train-wreck country singer and the other one’s this stand-up FBI fellow. That’s interesting, right? Getting to explore different extremes like that. I find both of these people very compelling. I find George Jones compelling because he’s an artist and probably one of the greatest singers in the history of our country. I find Gary [Noesner] compelling because he’s one of the greatest negotiators in the history of our country.”

In “George and Tammy,” the actor plays opposite Oscar winner Jessica Chastain, portraying the tumultuous marriage of legendary country music superstars George Jones and Tammy Wynette. “I just think she’s one of the best,” he says of his co-star. Watch the exclusive video interview above.

See Making of ‘George and Tammy’: Lively roundtable with Michael Shannon,...

It’s all about the nose. That is the secret to singing classic country music, or at least getting to the heart of the style of singing brought back to life in “George & Tammy,” according to the actors who inhabit the title roles, Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain.

Variety caught up with the actors as they made the rounds recently to discuss playing George Jones and Tammy Wynette in the six-episode limited series, which premieres Sunday night on both Showtime and Paramount+. (It’ll be a Showtime exclusive for the following episodes.) They discussed how they worked with vocal coaches and music producers to arrive at the literal voices of Jones and Wynette, and also considering the psychology that made George and Tammy’s lives into such an immutable, lifetime duet, whether or not the two were technically together.

The formidable leading man and lady are less about strict...

Jessica Chastain flexed her singing chops and tightened her belt — literally — to play late country singer Tammy Wynette.

The Academy Award winner stars opposite Michael Shannon in the Paramount limited series “George & Tammy” based on the tumultuous love story between music duo Wynette and George Jones. Abe Sylvia created the series. Lead star Chastain worked with vocal coach Ron Browning for months to sing like Wynette, calling a live performance in front of hundreds of extras “the scariest thing I’ve ever done.”

Yet Chastain took the physical preparation to play Wynette into her own hands when tracking Wynette’s later-in-life health issues and painkiller addiction.

“I don’t really like to look at scales, but I stopped eating,” Chastain said to Vanity Fair. “I was drinking juices and I kept doing it until I looked sick.”

Wynette died in 1998 at age 55.

Chastain also produces the musical biopic that co-stars Steve Zahn,...