Ian McShane

Ian McShane has one of the great late-career runs in acting, and I never tire of watching it. The Blackburn-born actor was already a household name in Britain thanks to Lovejoy, but Deadwood changed everything: his Al Swearengen turned profanity into something close to Shakespeare, and the 2005 Golden Globe barely covers the achievement. Then came Mr. Wednesday in American Gods, sly and dangerous and impossibly charismatic. What I admire most is the voice — that gravel-and-velvet instrument that makes even a throwaway line feel like a threat or a blessing. Past eighty, he still owns every frame he is in. That is craft, not luck.

Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor. His television performances include the title role in the BBC series Lovejoy (1986, 1991–1994), Al Swearengen in Deadwood (2004–2006) and its 2019 film continuation, and Mr. Wednesday in American Gods (2017–2021).

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Name (English)

Ian McShane

Name (Japanese)

イアン・マクシェーン

Reading

いあん・まくしぇーん

Born

September 29, 1942 (age 83)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Libra / Horse

Origin

Blackburn, United Kingdom

Blood type

Private

Height

Private

Agency

Private

Occupation

actor / film producer / singer / voice actor

Elementary school

Private

Junior high

Private

High school

Private

University

Private

Awards & achievements

• 2005 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama

Spouse

Private

Children

Private

Parents

Private

Siblings

Private

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A4%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E3%83%9E%E3%82%AF%E3%82%B7%E3%82%A7%E3%83%BC%E3%83%B3

Tags

• actor
• film producer
• singer

Last updated

2026-06-11

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.