Ian McShane facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ian McShane
McShane in October 2022
Born	Ian David McShane (1942-09-29) 29 September 1942 (age 82) Blackburn, Lancashire, England
Alma mater	Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1962–present
Spouse(s)	Suzan Farmer ​ ​ (m. 1965; div. 1968)​ Ruth Post ​ ​ (m. 1970; div. 1975)​ Gwen Humble ​ (m. 1980)​
Children	2
Parent(s)	Harry McShane (father)

Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor. He is known for his television performances, particularly as the title role in the BBC series Lovejoy (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in Deadwood (2004–2006) and its 2019 film continuation, as well as Mr. Wednesday in American Gods (2017–2021). For the original series of Deadwood, McShane won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama and received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. For the film, he (as producer) was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie.

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Early life

A young Ian McShane as Satan in the York Mystery Plays, 1963

McShane was born Ian David McShane in Blackburn, Lancashire, on 29 September 1942, the only child of Irene (née Cowley; 1921–2021) and professional footballer Harry McShane (1920–2012). His father was Scottish, from Holytown, Lanarkshire, and his mother, who was born in England, was of Irish and English descent. McShane grew up in Davyhulme, Lancashire, and attended Stretford Grammar School. After being a member of the National Youth Theatre, he studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), alongside Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt. McShane shared a flat with Hurt, whom he called his "oldest friend in the business", and was still a student at RADA when he appeared (along with Hurt) in his first film The Wild and the Willing (1962). He went on to play Satan in the York Mystery Plays in 1963.

Career

In the United Kingdom, McShane's best known role is antiques dealer Lovejoy in the eponymous series. Long before Lovejoy, McShane was a pin-up as a result of appearances in television series, such as Wuthering Heights (1967, as Heathcliff), Jesus of Nazareth (1977, as Judas Iscariot), and Disraeli (1978)—as well as films like Sky West and Crooked (1965) and Battle of Britain (1969). The actor also enjoyed success in the United States as British film director Don Lockwood in Dallas.

In the United States, he is known for the role of historical figure Al Swearengen in the HBO series Deadwood, for which he won the 2005 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Drama. He was also nominated at the 2005 Emmy Award and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Among science fiction fans, McShane is known for playing the character Robert Bryson in Babylon 5: The River of Souls. In a 2004 interview with The Independent, McShane stated that he wished that he had turned down the role of Bryson as he had struggled with the technical dialogue and found looking at Martin Sheen, who was wearing an eye in the middle of his forehead, to be the most embarrassing experience that he had ever had while acting.

In 1985, McShane appeared as an MC on Grace Jones' Slave to the Rhythm, a concept album which featured his narration interspersed throughout and which sold over a million copies worldwide.

In 1992, he recorded and released his own solo studio album, From Both Sides Now, which features McShane singing cover versions of popular songs. The album reached number 40 in the UK Albums Chart.

McShane in 2006

His other roles include that of armed robber and gangland boss Jack Last in the Minder episode The Last Video Show. ..... In live-action, he has performed in Hot Rod, the action/thriller Death Race, and The Seeker. He has appeared in The West Wing as a Russian diplomat. During 2007–08, he starred as Max in the 40th anniversary Broadway revival of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming, co-starring Eve Best, Raúl Esparza, and Michael McKean, and directed by Daniel Sullivan, at the Cort Theatre (16 December 2007 – 13 April 2008).

In 2009, he appeared in Kings, which was based on the biblical story of David. His portrayal of King Silas Benjamin, an analogue of King Saul, was highly praised with one critic saying: "Whenever Kings seems to falter, McShane appears to put bite marks all over the scenery."

In 2010, McShane starred in The Pillars of the Earth as Bishop Waleran Bigod. The series was a historical drama set in 12th-century England and adapted from Ken Follett's novel of the same name. That same year, the Walt Disney Company confirmed that McShane would portray Blackbeard in On Stranger Tides.

In 2013, he played King Brahmwell in Bryan Singer's Jack the Giant Slayer.

Since 2010, McShane has narrated the opening teases for each round of ESPN's coverage of The Open Championship. ..... In 2016, he joined the cast of Game of Thrones in Season 6 as Ray.

McShane announced on 20 April 2017 that a script for a two-hour Deadwood film had been submitted by creator David Milch to HBO and that a film was as close as ever to happening. "[A] two-hour movie script has been delivered to HBO. If they don't deliver [a finished product], blame them," McShane said. The film began production in October 2018. Deadwood: The Movie was released on 31 May 2019, concluding the story of the series.

Personal life

McShane married and divorced Suzan Farmer in the 1960s. Then he married model Ruth Post with whom he had two children. In 1977, he began a relationship with Sylvia Kristel after meeting her on the set of The Fifth Musketeer. On 30 August 1980, McShane married Gwen Humble. They live in Venice, California. Through his eldest daughter, McShane has three grandchildren.

Filmography

Film

Film credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Refs.
1962	The Wild and the Willing	Harry Brown
1965	The Pleasure Girls	Keith Dexter
1966	Sky West and Crooked	Roibin
1969	If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium	Charlie Cartwright
1969	Battle of Britain	Sgt. Pilot Andy Moore
1970	Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You	Fred C. Dobbs
1970	Tam-Lin	Tom Lynn
1971	Freelance	Mitch
1971	Villain	Wolfe Lissner
1972	Left Hand of Gemini
1972	Sitting Target	Birdy Williams
1973	The Last of Sheila	Anthony Wood
1974	Ransom	Ray Petrie
1975	Journey into Fear	Banat
1979	The Great Riviera Bank Robbery	The Brain
1979	The Fifth Musketeer	Fouquet
1979	Yesterday's Hero	Rod Turner
1981	Cheaper to Keep Her	Dr. Alfred Sunshine
1983	Exposed	Greg Miller
1985	Ordeal by Innocence	Philip Durant
1985	Too Scared to Scream	Vincent Hardwick
1985	Torchlight	Sidney
2000	... Beast	Teddy Bass
2002	Bollywood Queen	Frank
2003	Agent Cody Banks	Dr. Brinkman
2003	Nemesis Game	Jeff Novak
2005	Nine Lives	Larry
2006	Scoop	Joe Strombel
2006	We Are Marshall	Paul Griffen
2007	Shrek the Third	Captain Hook	Voice
2007	Hot Rod	Frank Powell
2007	The Seeker	Merriman Lyon
2007	The Golden Compass	Ragnar Sturlusson	Voice
2008	Kung Fu Panda	Tai Lung	Voice
2008	Death Race	Coach
2009	Coraline	Mr. Bobinsky	Voice
2009	Case 39	Detective Mike Barron
2009	44 Inch Chest	Meredith	Also executive producer
2010	The Sorcerer's Apprentice	Narrator	Uncredited
2011	Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides	Blackbeard
2012	Snow White and the Huntsman	Beith
2013	Jack the Giant Slayer	King Brahmwell
2014	Cuban Fury	Ron Parfitt
2014	Hercules	Amphiaraus
2014	John Wick	Winston Scott
2014	El Niño	El Inglés
2015	Bilal	Umayya	Voice
2016	Grimsby	MI6 Spy Boss	Uncredited
2016	The Hollow Point	Sheriff Leland Kilbaught
2017	John Wick: Chapter 2	Winston Scott
2017	Jawbone	Joe Padgett
2017	Pottersville	Bart
2018	Here Comes the Grump	The Grump	Voice
2019	Hellboy	Trevor Bruttenholm
2019	Bolden	Judge Leander Perry
2019	John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum	Winston Scott
2022	My Father's Dragon	Saiwa the Gorilla	Voice
2023	John Wick: Chapter 4	Winston Scott
2024	Kung Fu Panda 4	Tai Lung	Voice
2024	Ballerina	Winston Scott	Post-production

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Ian McShane para niños