Bullet Train: Who Plays The White Death & Why Is He So Familiar To Superman Fans?
2022's "Bullet Train" might go off the rails, but it does so with one of the most stacked ensemble casts in recent memory, charged with bringing the sprawling cast of plotting and counter-plotting characters from the original source novel to the big screen. But there's at least one imposing figure in the movie who was created specifically for the film and who doesn't originate in the novel: the Russian Yakuza boss known as The White Death.
The White Death is played in a typically sinister fashion by character actor Michael Shannon, who has played many a terrifying psychopath in his film acting career. But even if you haven't seen his chilling turns in films like small productions "Bug" or "The Iceman," one of his most high-profile (and dangerous) scoundrels can be seen in 2013's "Man of Steel" and 2023's "The Flash," both of which see Shannon plays Kryptonian despot General Zod.
Both The White Death and General Zod are portrayed by the menacing Michael Shannon
Both The White Death and General Zod are characters that are supposed to be extremely intimidating, and it speaks to Michael Shannon's abilities as an actor that he plays both roles so ably.
Interestingly, there is another comic book movie connection between Shannon's role as The White Death and an iconic superhero character — this one from the Marvel Universe. Producer Kelly McCormick once revealed that Michael Shannon was the "Bullet Train" star who almost played Cable in "Deadpool 2," and that it was McCormick and Leitch's desire to work with Shannon on that project that led to his being cast in their next collaboration as The White Death.
"He was the first person we went to for that role, I think, and we'd been wanting to work with him for a long time," McCormick told IndieWire in a feature on the myriad cameos of "Bullet Train."
So if you're a fan of the DC Extended Universe wondering why the fearsome Yakuza boss The White Death looked familiar to you as you watched "Bullet Train," now you know. And it just seems kind of a shame that at no point in "Bullet Train" does Shannon ever deliver the line, "Kneel before The White Death!"