• Name: Ian McShane
  • Date of Birth: September 29, 1942
  • Place of Birth: Blackburn, Lancashire, England, UK
Mini-bio: Award-winning character actor Ian McShane was born on September 29, 1942, in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, the son of professional footballer (soccer player) Harry McShane, who played for Manchester...( read more) United, and wife Irene. Ian attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and made his motion picture debut in The Wild and the Willing (1962). Although primarily known for his appearances on film and television, McShane has a long stage career, appearing in London in the original staging of Joe Orton's "Loot" and supporting Judi Dench and Ian McKellen in Aleksei Arbuzov's "The Promise," which transferred to Broadway in 1967. McShane has long excelled at playing menacing heavies, from his turn as Richard Burton's criminal underboss in Villain (1971) to his small but very memorable role as the shadowy crime boss "Teddy Bass" in Sexy Beast (2000). His assays in villainy reached their apogee with his characterization of the dastardly bordello impresario Al Swearengen in the HBO western series _"Deadwood" (2004/I)_ , for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a TV Drama in 2005 (he was also nominated for an Emmy that year as Best Lead Actor in a TV Series). It was the topper to a career spanning five decades. He formed McShane Productions in the 1980s to produce the popular BBC series "Lovejoy" (1986), which he not only starred in but directed. He has also appeared on stage, making his musical debut in 2000 in London's West End in the male lead of Cameron Mackintosh's "The Witches of Eastwick." Trade Mark Frequently plays cold-eyed, calculating villains. Trivia Children: Kate (b. 1971), Morgan (b. 1975) Father was Harry McShane, the Manchester United footballer. Grew up in Manchester. After over 40 years in the business, he has finally struck it big internationally with his performance as the macho, gruffly-complex villain, Al Swearengen, on the HBO series, "Deadwood" (2004). An appealing romantic lead in several hit movies of the sixties, by the late seventies he had progressed to character parts, such as the title roles in the BBC "Disraeli" and the very popular TV series "Lovejoy."
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Comments


  • dkp069
    Still a Hottie in my books Mr. Mc Shane....tuned into the DVD's off HBO...for Deadwood. Great Story!! My brother in law played an extra for the shoot until his stroke.

    Keep up the great works.

    Many Prosperous Blessings.
    Deborah
    posted 404 days ago
  • hpcoooney
    With the greatest respect,could MrShane confirm that on the late late show hosted by Gay Byrne, after his appearance in the Winds of War,he said that he was ashamed of his country's efforts in the the Second World War.

    Yours sincerely,

    Hugh Cooney
    posted 420 days ago
  • cvilly
    McShane is freakin' brilliant. If you haven't seen Deadwood (HBO series), drop what you are doing right now and get thee to the local video store.
    posted 489 days ago
  • kayz78
    Gave them a bio of McShane, didn't post it. Has anyone got any stuff on this great man?
    posted 509 days ago