Ian McShane

Ian McShane is an award-winning actor who has captured the public's attention playing bad guys, scoundrels and thieves. Classically trained and with a voice like none other, McShane has played a range of rogues and other multifaceted characters on television, the silver screen and the boards. In 2004 McShane exploded onto the small screen as Al Swearengen on HBO's "Deadwood," for which he earned the coveted Golden Globe® Award for Best Actor in a Television Drama. His charismatic performance also led to 2005 Emmy® and SAG Award® nominations for Lead Actor. McShane was named "TV's Sexiest Villain" by People magazine and made the GQ "Men of the Year" list.

McShane played Amphiaraus (part priest, part prophet, part warrior) opposite Dwayne Johnson in Hercules, for director Brett Ratner. He appeared in a cameo role in acclaimed Spanish director Daniel Monzón's new film, El Niño. On the lighter side of the dramatic spectrum, he played Ron, Nick Frost's salsa-dance instructor, in the independent feature Cuban Fury, for director James Griffiths.

Previously, McShane starred as the good King Brahmwell in Jack the Giant Slayer, for director Bryan Singer; played the lead dwarf Beith opposite Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron in Snow White and the Huntsman, for Rupert Sanders; brought to life the fearsome pirate Blackbeard opposite Johnny Depp in the blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides; and played the menacing gangster Teddy Bass in Jonathan Glazer's Sexy Beast, a cult hit that netted Ben Kingsley an Oscar® nomination.

Other film credits include the darkly perverse 44 Inch Chest, which McShane starred in as well as produced, and Woody Allen's Scoop.

The actor's early parts included Anthony in the 1973 cult favorite The Last of Sheila, Wolfe Lissner in Villain, Fred C. Dobbs in Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You and Charlie Cartwright in 1970's If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium.

In addition to his on-screen work, McShane has also made his mark as a voice-over artist. His dulcet tones narrated The Sorcerer's Apprentice, brought life to the eccentric magician Mr. Bobinsky in Coraline and embodied the sinister Tai Lung in Kung Fu Panda. Additionally, he lent his rich, resonant voice to The Golden Compass and Shrek the Third.

McShane has also enjoyed a long and diverse career on both British and American television. Most recently, he was the Santa serial killer on the award-winning drama "American Horror Story," for FX. He starred in 2010's Emmy®-nominated "Pillars of the Earth" as the conniving Waleran Bigod, a role for which he received a Golden Globe® nomination for Best Actor in a Miniseries. On NBC's "Kings" he played the ruthless Silas Benjamin.

Earlier in his TV career he formed McShane Productions and produced the lauded "Lovejoy" for the BBC and A&E. McShane starred in the title role of the lovable rogue antiques dealer and directed several episodes. Fans of this beloved series, which first aired in 1986, spanned the continents and successfully demanded that it be brought back. The series aired again from 1991 to 1994. McShane also made memorable appearances on U.S. television with roles on "Dallas" and the miniseries "War and Remembrance."

McShane played Sejanus in the miniseries "A.D.," the eponymous "Disraeli" for Masterpiece Theater and Judas in NBC's "Jesus of Nazareth." He was also featured in the landmark miniseries "Roots" and brought pathos to the disabled Ken Harrison in "Whose Life Is It Anyway?" McShane made for a smoldering Heathcliff in "Wuthering Heights" and also appeared in Harold Pinter's Emmy Award®-winning telefilm "The Caretaker."

McShane is an accomplished and award-winning stage actor. In 2008 he celebrated two anniversaries: the 40th-anniversary revival of Harold Pinter's "The Homecoming" on Broadway and the 40th-anniversary of his Broadway debut. He made his musical debut in the West End production of "The Witches of Eastwick," playing the devilish Darryl Van Horne.

In Los Angeles, he starred in a trio of productions at The Matrix Theatre, including the world premiere of Larry Atlas' "Yield of the Long Bond," for which he received the 1984 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award.

Other on-stage work has included roles in the original cast of Joe Orton's "Loot," "The Admirable Chrichton" at the Chichester Festival, "The Glass Menagerie," "Inadmissible Evidence," "Betrayal" and "The Big Knife." McShane's West End debut in 1967 was co-starring with Dame Judi Dench and Ian McKellen in "The Promise." In 1968 they brought the play to Broadway.

The actor was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, to parents Irene and Harry McShane, a soccer player for Manchester United. He originally planned to follow in his father's "footballer" steps until a high-school teacher encouraged him to become an actor. McShane landed a spot at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where, just before graduation, he got his first break—the lead role in "The Wild and the Willing"—in 1962.

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