IAN MCSHANE is reflecting on his lengthy career.
“It was 55 years ago that I was leaving drama school to go and do The Wild And The Willing,” he smiles as talk turns to his 1962 film debut.
“I’ve had a very blessed career . . . lucky! But you need a bit of talent to go along with it and we’re a sort of dying breed.
“My old friend Johnny Hurt died recently,” adds the star, referring to Merlin actor Sir John, who died in January, at 77.
“So I have one less old friend from that time — the 60s actors who went from movies to TV to theatre and back again — but we’re still going.”
Ian, looking far younger than his 74 years, with his enviable mop of black hair and Californian tan — he now lives in the Sunshine State — is on great form, his Lancashire voice booming as he reels off anecdotes.
Today, he’s back in the UK, but his admission of a cold (“It’s the London lurgy”) suggests he’s ready to return to warmer climes.
“I love it. I come back all the time because my kids (he has a son and daughter with his ex-wife, Ruth Post), grandkids and my mum are here, but I do love a bit of sunshine,” he quips of his relocation to Venice Beach, where he lives with wife, Gwen Humble.
And who are we to deprive McShane of the well-deserved fruits of his labour?
Born in Blackburn to parents Irene and football player Harry McShane, the actor’s made a name for himself with iconic characters, such as trickster antiques dealer Lovejoy, the fierce Al Swearengen in HBO series Deadwood, for which he won a Golden Globe, and fearsome pirate Blackbeard in Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
His trademark steely glare also saw him recently reprise his role as club owner/ex-assassin Winston opposite Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 2.
But it’s his latest role as Mr Wednesday — a crafty and endlessly charismatic con man — in the Amazon series American Gods, that’s really turning heads.
Based on Neil Gaiman’s 2001 novel of the same name, the fantasy-drama, developed by Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, posits a different kind of war brewing.
In a bid for power, Mr Wednesday enlists protagonist and ex-con Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) as part of his cross-country mission to unite the Old Gods who have assimilated themselves into normal American life — seduced by money, technology and celebrity — to fight the wave of powerful New Gods.
For Ian, the appeal was instant.
“I don’t watch everything I do as I’ve done so much, but this is really amazing. It’s a different kind of show,” he enthuses.
“It’s a story that talks about life, love, where we come from, the modern world. And you can’t fight the modern world. Wednesday wants to fight it, but that’s him.
“For all the other Gods, it’s the story of coming to America, immigration, faith . . .
“What Gaiman is saying is whatever faith you have, it doesn’t matter, as long as you have faith in something, or you’ll just be a boring cynic.”
Another project he’s keen to see do well is Jawbone, a film from McShane’s long-time friend Johnny Harris, which follows former boxing champion Jimmy McCabe as he struggles with alcoholism.
“I was enormously affected by it when I saw it,” he adds.
“The movie doesn’t make any promises, but it reminded me of the great films you used to make in the 70s.”
American Gods is available on Amazon Prime Video.
Jawbone is in cinemas now.
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