Ian McShane

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. His film roles include Harry Brown in The Wild and the Willing (1962), Charlie Cartwright in If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969), Wolfe Lissner in Villain (1971), Teddy Bass in Sexy Beast (2000), Frank Powell in Hot Rod (2007), Tai Lung in Kung Fu Panda (2008) and Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024), Blackbeard in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), and Winston Scott in the John Wick franchise (2014–present).

Ian McShane studied at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Stretford Grammar School. The recorded working language is English. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are Western. Residence is recorded at Venice. Distinctions recorded are Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama.

• Name — Ian McShane • Birth Name — Ian David McShane • Born — 29 September 1942 • Birthplace — Blackburn, Lancashire, England • Education — Royal Academy of Dramatic Art • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 1962–present • Children — 2 • Father — Harry McShane

McShane was born in Blackburn, Lancashire on 29 September 1942. He is the child of professional footballer Harry (1920–2012) and Irene McShane (née Cowley; 1921–2021). His father was Scottish, from Holytown, Lanarkshire. His mother, who was born in England, was of Irish and English descent. McShane grew up in Davyhulme, Lancashire (now in Greater Manchester), and attended Stretford Grammar School. After being a member of the National Youth Theatre, he studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) with 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 with Hurt in his first film, The Wild and the Willing, in 1962. He later played Satan in the York Mystery Plays in 1963.

• Illustration — McShane as Satan in the York Mystery Plays in 1963 In the United Kingdom, McShane's best known role is antiques dealer Lovejoy in the eponymous series (1986, 1991–1994). Long before Lovejoy, McShane was a pin-up as a result of appearances in such television series as Wuthering Heights (1967, as Heathcliff), Jesus of Nazareth (1977, as Judas Iscariot), and Disraeli (1978)—as well as films such as Sky West and Crooked (1965), If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium, Battle of Britain (both 1969), Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You (1970), Sitting Target (1972), The Last of Sheila (1973) and The Fifth Musketeer (1979). He has also enjoyed success in the United States as Don Lockwood in Dallas and is known for the role of 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 Robert Bryson in Babylon 5: The River of Souls. In a 2004 interview with The Independent, McShane stated that he wished he had turned down the role of Bryson since the technical dialogue was a struggle and he found looking at Martin Sheen, who wore 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 MC on Grace Jones' Slave to the Rhythm, a concept album featuring his narration interspersed throughout. It sold more than a million copies worldwide. In 1992 he recorded and released a solo studio album, From Both Sides Now, in which he sang cover versions of popular songs. The album reached number 40 in the UK Albums Chart. • Illustration — McShane in 2006 His other roles include that of armed robber and gangland boss Jack Last in the Minder episode "The Last Video Show". As Captain Hook in Shrek the Third, Ragnar Sturlusson in The Golden Compass, Tai Lung in Kung Fu Panda (for which he received an Annie Award nomination), crime boss Teddy Bass in Sexy Beast, and Mr. Bobinsky in Coraline. 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. In July 2000, he created the role of Darryl Van Horne for the Original London production of the musical version of The Witches of Eastwick at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London's West End. He stayed in the role until the show transferred to the Prince of Wales Theatre in March 2001. 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 drawn from the biblical story of David. His portrayal of King Silas Benjamin, an analogue of King Saul, was highly praised, with one critic writing: "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 it was confirmed that McShane would portray Edward "Blackbeard" Teach in the Walt Disney Company/Jerry Bruckheimer film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. McShane reprised the role of Blackbeard in Pirates of the Caribbean in Disneyland and Walt Disney World, as well as the interactive quest A Pirate's Adventure: Treasure of the Seven Seas at Magic Kingdom. 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 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. In 2016, he joined the cast of Game of Thrones in Season 6 as Septon Ray. McShane announced in 2017 that a script for a two-hour Deadwood film had been submitted by creator David Milch to HBO and that a film was close 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.

In 1965, McShane married English actress Suzan Farmer and they divorced in 1968. He married his second wife, English model Ruth Post, on 8 June 1968, and they had two children, Kate and Morgan. In 1977, he began a five-year relationship with Sylvia Kristel after meeting her on the set of The Fifth Musketeer; the affair ended his marriage to Post. On 30 August 1980, McShane married American actress Gwen Humble. They live in Venice, California. Through his elder daughter, McShane has three grandchildren.

Television credits • Year — Title — Role — Notes — Refs. References • 1963–1966 — Play of the Week — Mick / Frank Barnes / Arthur — 4 episodes • 1964 — Redcap — Sapper Russell — Episode: "Epitaph for a Sweat" • The Sullavan Brothers — David Hemming — 1 episode • 1966 — You Can't Win — Joe Lunn — 7 episodes • 1967 — Wuthering Heights — Heathcliff — 4 episodes • 1972 — Whose Life Is It Anyway? — Ken Harrison — Television play • 1975 — Space: 1999 — Anton Zoref — Episode: "Force of Life" • The Lives of Jenny Dolan — Saunders — Television film • 1976 — The Fantastic Journey — Sir James Camden — Episode: "The Fantastic Journey" • 1977 — Roots — Sir Eric Russell — Episode: "Part Nine" • Jesus of Nazareth — Judas Iscariot — 2 episodes • Code Name: Diamond Head — Sean Donovan — Television film • 1978 — Will Shakespeare — Christopher Marlowe — Episode: "Dead Shepherd" • Disraeli — Benjamin Disraeli — 4 episodes • The Pirate — Rashid — Television film • 1980 — Armchair Thriller - High Tide — Curtis — 4 episodes • 1981, 1982 — Magnum, P.I. — David Norman / Edwin Clutterbuck — 2 episodes • 1982 — The Letter — Geoff — Television film • Marco Polo — Ali Ben Yussouf — 2 episodes • 1983 — Bare Essence — Niko Theophilus — 11 episodes • Grace Kelly — Prince Rainier of Monaco — Television film • 1985 — Evergreen — Paul Lerner — 3 episodes • A.D. — Sejanus — 5 episodes • Braker — Alan Roswell — Television film • 1986 — American Playhouse — Willy Wax — Episode: "Rocket to the Moon" • 1986 — The Murders in the Rue Morgue — Prefect of Police — Television film • 1986, 1991–1994 — Lovejoy — Lovejoy — Main role • 1987 — Grand Larceny — Flanagan — Television film • 1987, 1989 — Miami Vice — Esteban Montoya — 2 episodes • 1988 — The Dirty Dozen — Lindberger — 1 episode • War and Remembrance — Philip Rule — 4 episodes • Chain Letter — The Messenger of Death — Television film • The Great Escape II: The Untold Story — Roger Bushell — Television film • 1989 — Dallas — Don Lockwood — 13 episodes • Wonderworks: Young Charlie Chaplin — Charles Chaplin Sr. — 6 episodes • Minder — Jack Last — Episode: "The Last Video Show" • Miami Vice — Gen. Manuel Borbon — Episode: "Freefall" • Dick Francis Mysteries: Blood Sport — David Cleveland — Television film • Dick Francis Mysteries: In The Frame • Dick Francis Mysteries: Twice Shy • 1990 — Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception — Andre Marchand • Columbo — Leland St. John — Episode: "Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo" • Mistress of Suspense — Steven Castle — Episode: "Sauce for the Goose" • 1994 — White Goods — Ian Deegan — Television film • 1995 — Soul Survivors — Otis Cooke — 2 episodes • 1996 — Madson — John Madson — 6 episodes • 1997 — The Naked Truth — Leland Banks — 2 episodes • 1998 — Babylon 5: The River of Souls — Robert Bryson, PhD — Television film • 1999 — D.R.E.A.M. Team — Oliver Maxwell • 2001 — Britain's Most Terrifying Ghost Stories — Narrator — Episode: "All" • Thieves — Jack — Episode: "Jack's Back" • 2002 — The West Wing — Nikolai Ivanovich — Episode: "Enemies Foreign and Domestic" • In Deep — Jamie Lam — 2 episodes • Man and Boy — Marty Mann — Television film • 2003 — Trust — Alan Cooper-Fozzard — 6 episodes • The Twilight Zone — Dr. Chandler — Episode: "Cold Fusion" • 2004–2006 — Deadwood — Al Swearengen — 36 episodes • 2008 — SpongeBob SquarePants — Gordon — Episode: "Dear Vikings"; voice • 2009 — Kings — King Silas Benjamin — 12 episodes • 2010 — The Pillars of the Earth — Waleran Bigod — 8 episodes • 2012 — American Horror Story: Asylum — Leigh Emerson — 2 episodes • 2015 — Ray Donovan — Andrew Finney — 9 episodes • 2016 — Doctor Thorne — Sir Roger Scatcherd — 3 episodes • Game of Thrones — Brother Ray — Episode: "The Broken Man" • 2017–2021 — American Gods — Mr. Wednesday — Main cast • 2019 — Deadwood: The Movie — Al Swearengen — Television film; also executive producer • Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — Sir Tobias Moore — Episode: "I'm Going to Make You a Star" • 2021 — The Simpsons — Artemis — Voice, episode: "The Last Barfighter" • 2023 — One Piece — Narrator — Episode: "Romance Dawn"

Video game credits • Year — Title — Voice role — Refs. References • 2019 — John Wick Hex — Winston Scott

• Year — Title — Role — Venue • 2011 — Pirates of the Caribbean — Blackbeard — Disneyland; Walt Disney World • 2013 — A Pirate's Adventure: Treasure of the Seven Seas — Blackbeard — Magic Kingdom

Ian McShane is recorded as actor, film producer and singer.