Joseph Gordon-Levitt says Michael Shannon was ''so good'' in 'Premium Rush'.

The 'Dark Knight Rises' actor appears alongside the 38-year-old star in the action thriller - which tells the story of a bike messenger who is pursued through the streets of Manhattan by a dirty cop - and he loved filming the ''badass'' bike and car chases.

He said: ''Michael Shannon in this movie, I think when people look back on 'Premium Rush,' they're gonna say, 'That had badass chase scenes, and Michael Shannon was so good!' Everyone else was really good, like Wole Parks, Dania Ramirez, everybody's really good. I'm pretty good.

''But Michael Shannon, I think that the character he has made in 'Premium Rush' is just such a classic Cagney heavy. He's great.''

While he was heavily involved in action movies 'Inception' and 'The Dark Knight Rises', Joseph insists 'Premium Rush' is the ''hardest'' role physically that he's ever taken on.

He added to FlicksandBits.com: ''I had just got done doing 'Inception,' which before 'Premium Rush' was probably the hardest job I'd ever done physically - and it was hard for different reasons.

''But just as far as pure, physical energy and exertion, 'Premium Rush' was harder. 'Inception' would come in a close second, but I was on a bike every day, all day. The whole movie is on a bike.''