Ian McShane From Lovejoy to Judas Iscariot in Jesus of Nazareth, Lancastrian McShane has made a career out of playing rogues. In HBO’s dirty western drama Deadwood, he chewed up the 1870s scenery as scheming Al Swearengen, a murderous, luxuriantly mustachioed brothel-keeper and saloon-owner who lived up to his surname with extensive use of profanity. He won a Golden Globe and the show gathered a loyal cult following but got cancelled after three seasons, much to McShane’s displeasure: “It was the best gig I ever had. Even now, I’ll catch it on TV and get drawn in. It wasn’t good, it was fucking brilliant”

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