Ian McShane

For the footballer, see Iain Paul McShane.

Ian McShane (born 29 September 1942) is a Golden Globe-winning English actor. Although he has starred in a number of films, it is by his television roles that he is generally best known, starting with the BBC's Lovejoy and particularly in the HBO Western drama Deadwood. He most recently starred in the NBC series Kings as King Silas Benjamin.

Personal life

Ian McShane was born in Blackburn, Lancashire. The son of Irene (née Cowley) and Harry McShane,^[1] a Scottish-born professional footballer with Manchester United and Hamilton Academical. McShane grew up in Urmston, Manchester and attended Stretford Grammar School.

In 1977, he began a turbulent five-year relationship with Sylvia Kristel after meeting her on the set of The Fifth Musketeer.^[2] He is married to Gwen Humble.

Career

In the United Kingdom, his best known role may be that of roguish but dashing antiques dealer Lovejoy in the BBC drama series of the same name. He also enjoyed fame in the United States as bounding English cad Don Lockwood in the soap opera Dallas. Even 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).

He had starred in a number of films until 1987 when he made few major film appearances until the turn of the Millennium.

In 1983, he starred in the short-lived NBC prime time soap opera Bare Essence. In 1985, he appeared on Grace Jones' album Slave to the Rhythm, reading an excerpt from Ian Penman's essay The Annihilation of Rhythm. Furthermore, he starred in two Miami Vice episodes in 1987 and 1989; his role in the series' finale episode 'Freefall' as General Manuel Bourbon, the corrupt leader of the fictional Central American nation of Costa Morada, was inspired by the real-life downfall of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. Work in the 2000s has included roles in movies Scoop, Sexy Beast, Agent Cody Banks, and We Are Marshall. In the United States, he is perhaps best known for the role of historical figure Al Swearengen in the HBO series Deadwood. For his performance in this role as the storm centre of the series, he won the 2005 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Drama and was also nominated for similar awards at the 2005 Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

In 2000, he appeared as Darryl Van Horne in Cameron Mackintosh's musical The Witches of Eastwick - his first London stage appearance since he starred with Dame Judi Dench in The Promise in the late 1960s. He also made a guest appearance in the third season of The West Wing, playing Russian negotiator Nikolai Ivanovich in the episode "Enemies Foreign and Domestic". His most recent roles are the part of Captain Hook in Shrek the Third, the voice of Iofur Raknison (known as Ragnar Sturlusson in the film) in The Golden Compass, the voice of the evil Tai Lung in Kung Fu Panda (for which he received an Annie Award nomination), the comedy Hot Rod, and the voice of Mr. Bobinski, a beet-eating Russian giant in the film Coraline. He is also noteworthy in the pivotal role of Merriman Lyon in The Seeker.

During the 2007–2008 season, he starred as Max in the 40th anniversary Broadway revival of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming, co-starring Eve Best, Raul Esparza, and Michael McKean and directed by Daniel Sullivan, at the Cort Theatre (16 December 2007 through 13 April 2008). Ian Mcshane also starred in Dick Francis Mysteries, which is a made for TV series with three parts, Twice Shy, In the Frame and Blood Sport, in which he played a Jockey Club detective investigating bizarre incidents based around the horse racing industry.

In 2009, McShane appeared on the short-lived NBC television drama series 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."^[3] McShane appears in The Pillars of the Earth , based on Ken Follet’s best selling novel, and 44 Inch Chest, a drama co-starring Ray Winstone, who executive produces along with McShane. Another 2009 film is Paramount's Case 39 , where he plays a detective opposite Reneé Zellweger.

Filmography

• The Wild and the Willing (1962)
• The Pleasure Girls (1965)
• Sky West and Crooked (1966)
• Gypsy Girl (1967)
• If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969)
• Battle of Britain (1969)
• Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You (1970)
• Tam Lin (1970)
• Freelance (1971)
• Villain (1971)
• Left Hand of Gemini (1972)
• Sitting Target (1972)
• The Last of Sheila (1973)
• Ransom (1975)
• Journey into Fear (1975)
• Sewers of Gold (1979)
• The Fifth Musketeer (1979)
• Yesterday's Hero (1979)
• Cheaper to Keep Her (1981)
• Exposed (1983)
• Ordeal by Innocence (1984)
• Too Scared to Scream (1985)
• Torchlight (1985)
• Grand Larceny (1987)
• Babylon 5: The River of Souls (1999)
• Sexy Beast (2001)
• Bollywood Queen (2002)
• Agent Cody Banks (2003)
• Nine Lives (2005)
• Scoop (2006)
• We Are Marshall (2006)
• Shrek the Third (voice only) (2007)
• Hot Rod (2007)
• The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (2007)
• The Golden Compass (voice only) (2007)
• Kung Fu Panda (voice only) (2008)
• Death Race (2008)
• Coraline (voice only) (2009)
• Case 39 (2009)
• 44 Inch Chest (2009)
• Shrek Forever After (2010)
• Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom (voice only) (2011)

Television

• Space: 1999 (1975)
• Roots (1977)
• Jesus of Nazareth (miniseries) (1977)
• Life of Shakespeare (1978)
• Disraeli (1978)
• Magnum P.I. (1982)
• Marco Polo (1982)
• Evergreen (1985)
• A.D. (1985)
• Lovejoy (1986-94)
• Miami Vice (1987)
• War and Remembrance (1988)
• Dallas (1989)
• Minder (TV series) (1989)
• Trust (2003)
• Deadwood (2004-06)
• SpongeBob SquarePants (2008) as Gordon
• Kings (2009)
• The Pillars of the Earth (2010)

References

External links

• Ian McShane at the Internet Movie Database.
• "A Conversation with Actor Ian McShane" (Max) – The Charlie Rose Show, PBS, broadcast of 24 March 2008. Accessed 25 March 2008. ("A conversation with actor Ian McShane about his role in the 40th Anniversary Broadway revival of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming.")
• The Homecoming on Broadway – Official site of the 40th anniversary Broadway revival at the Cort Theatre. Accessed 25 March 2008.