Ian McShane -
Lovejoy Interview
Ian David McShane[1] (born
29 September 1942) is an
English actor, director, producer and voice artist.
Despite appearing in numerous films, McShane is best known for his television roles, particularly
BBC's Lovejoy[2] (
1986–94) and
HBO's drama series
Deadwood (2004–06).[3] McShane starred as
King Silas Benjamin in the
NBC series
Kings,
Bishop Waleran in
The Pillars of the Earth, Tai Lung in
Kung Fu Panda, and as
Blackbeard in
Pirates of the Caribbean:
On Stranger Tides.
McShane was born in
Blackburn, Lancashire, on 29 September 1942, the son of
Irene (née Cowley) (b.
1921) and footballer
Harry McShane (
1920–
2012).[2][
3][4] His father was
Scottish and his mother, who was born in
England, was of
Irish and
English descent.[5] McShane grew up in
Urmston, Lancashire, and attended
Stretford Grammar School. He studied at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and was still a student there when he appeared in his first film, 1962's
The Wild and the Willing.[2] McShane was a member of
National Youth Theatre.
In
Britain, McShane's best known role may be that of antiques dealer Lovejoy in the hit
BBC drama series of the same name.[2][3] He also enjoyed fame in the
United States as English cad
Don Lockwood in the soap opera
Dallas and as an English cockfighting aficionado in the miniseries
Roots. Even before Lovejoy, McShane was a pin-up as a result of appearances in television series such as
Wuthering Heights (
1967, as
Heathcliff), If
It's Tuesday, This Must Be
Belgium (
1969, as
Charlie),
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)
.
In the United States, he is perhaps best known for the role of historical figure
Al Swearengen in the
HBO series Deadwood,[3] for which he won the
2005 Golden Globe Award for
Best Actor in a
Television Drama.[2] He was also nominated for at the 2005
Emmy Award and
Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Within the science fiction community, McShane is best known for playing the character
Robert Bryson,
Ph.D. in
Babylon 5:
The River of Souls.
In
1985, he appeared as an iconic 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.[
6][7]
Other recent roles include
Captain Hook in
Shrek the Third,
Iofur Raknison (known as
Ragnar Sturlusson in the film) in
The Golden Compass, Tai Lung in Kung Fu Panda (for which he received an
Annie Award nomination), and Mr. Bobinsky, the strange
Russian neighbor in
Coraline. In live-action, he has performed in the comedy
Hot Rod, the action/thriller
Death Race, and
The Seeker. He has appeared on the
NBC television drama series
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 to 13
April 2008).
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."[8]
In
2010, McShane starred in the miniseries 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.
Also in 2010, the
Walt Disney Company confirmed that McShane would play Blackbeard in the fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, On Stranger Tides.[9] In
2013, McShane played King Brahmwell in
Bryan Singer's
Jack the Giant Slayer.[10]
Since 2010, McShane has narrated the opening teases for each round of
ESPN's coverage of
The Open Championship.[11]
In 2012, McShane had a guest role for two episodes as
Murder Santa, a sadistic serial killer in the
1960s in the second season of
American Horror Story, alongside
Jessica Lange and
Zachary Quinto.
In 2016 he will join the cast of the HBO series
Game of Thrones in
Season 6.
McShane has been married three times: he first married and divorced
Suzanne Farmer in the 1960s. In 1977, McShane began a relationship with actress
Sylvia Kristel (star of the sex film
Emmanuelle) after meeting her on the set of
The Fifth Musketeer.[13]
The affair ended his marriage to his second wife, the model
Ruth Post, who is the mother of his two children,
Kate and
Morgan.[2] In
1980, he married actress
Gwen Humble.
They live in the
Venice Beach community of
Los Angeles
- published: 12 Sep 2015
- views: 1884