Ian McShane (Coach) is currently earning critical acclaim for his Broadway performance in Daniel Sullivan’s revival of Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming. It’s a 40th anniversary for both the play and McShane, as he made his Broadway debut in a production of The Promise in 1967, the same year The Homecoming first played on the Great White Way. McShane was recently seen on screen in Fox-Walden’s fantasy adventure The Seeker: The Dark is Rising, as the mentor Merriman Lyon in the adaptation of Susan Cooper’s beloved novel.
McShane’s unique and distinctive voice has made him an in-demand voice talent adding his vocal prowess as Captain Hook in Shrek the Third; the villainous snow leopard Tai Lung in Kung Fu Panda, bowing in 2008; Mr. Bobinski in Laika Entertainment’s first animated feature, Coraline, an adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s international best-selling book and directed by Henry Selick; and as Ragnar Sturlusson in the first installment of New Line Cinema’s trilogy The Golden Compass, alongside Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig.
McShane earned the coveted Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series-Drama for his versatile performance as Al Swearengen on HBO’s hit series Deadwood. His charismatic and alluring performance also led him to a 2005 Emmy and 2005 and 2006 SAG Award nominations for Lead Actor, as well as being voted “TV’s Sexiest Villain” by People magazine in 2005.
His performance in Deadwood gained him a wave of critical acclaim, which earned him the Television Critics Association’s annual award for Individual Achievement in Drama, and being selected as one of GQ’s “Men of the Year.” They described the character of Swearengen as “infectious” and “darkly irresistible.” The New York Times dubbed him as “one of the most interesting villains on television,” and Rolling Stone magazine bestowed the title of “Hot Barkeep” and described the character as “played to perfection.”
McShane has continually shown his range of talent over the last few years appearing in numerous projects embodying a diversity of roles from Hot Rod, a comedy directed by Saturday Night Live’s Akiva Schaffer, in which he played the macho, athletic stepfather to accident-prone daredevil Andy Samberg; Paramount Pictures’ thriller Case 39, playing a detective opposite Renée Zellweger; Warner Bros.’ true-life drama We Are Marshall, opposite Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox; Woody Allen’s Scoop, alongside Scarlett Johansson and Hugh Jackman; Rodrigo Garcia’s critically acclaimed true-to-life character study Nine Lives; and Jonathan Glazer’s critically acclaimed indie Sexy Beast, giving another riveting performance by transforming himself into the dark, sinister and very handsome character Teddy Bass, prompting one London writer to declare McShane “the king of cool.”
Having starred in more than 30 films, McShane made his debut in 1962’s Young and Willing, which led to other roles in Battle of Britain, The Last of Sheila, Villain (co-starring Richard Burton), Exposed and Agent Cody Banks.
McShane has enjoyed a long and creatively diverse career in both British and American television, including a role in the David L. Wolper’s seminal 1970’s miniseries Roots, as well as BBC and BBC America’s Trust, playing the eccentric megalomaniacal head of the firm, Alan Cooper-Fozzard. Starring turns in Whose Life Is It Anyway? for Granada TV, the role of Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights for the BBC and Harold Pinter’s Emmy Award-winning The Caretaker, are among his other television highlights. McShane has also stepped into roles as well-known figures, taking on parts such as Judas in NBC’s Jesus of Nazareth, directed by Franco Zeffirelli; Prince Rainer in the network’s The Grace Kelly Story; and the title role in Masterpiece Theatre’s Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic. Additional miniseries credits include Wonderworks: Young Charlie Chaplin, A.D., The Great Escape II: The Untold Story, Marco Polo, Evergreen and War and Remembrance.
In the late ’80s, the actor formed McShane Productions, which produced the much-adored Lovejoy for the BBC and A&E. Lovejoy gave McShane a vehicle to star in as well as produce and direct. He followed his lovable rogue character Lovejoy by producing and starring in the darker and more serious lead role in Madson and the comedy drama Soul Survivors for BBC and Showtime. Lovejoy is currently enjoying a revival with audiences worldwide.
In 2000, McShane returned to the West End in London to make his musical debut starring in Cameron Mackintosh’s successful musical The Witches of Eastwick as Darryl Van Horne. His varied stage career has included roles such as Hal in the original cast of Loot, the title role of The Admirable Crichton at the Chichester Festival, Tom in The Glass Menagerie and Charlie in The Big Knife. He co-starred with Dame Judi Dench and Sir Ian McKellen in Promise, which successfully played London and debuted on Broadway. In Los Angeles, he starred in three productions at The Matrix Theatre, including the world premiere of Larry Atlas’ Yield of the Long Bond and two others for which he received the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award: Inadmissible Evidence and Betrayal.
Born in Blackburn, England, Ian is the son of professional soccer player Harry McShane, who played for Manchester United, and Irene McShane. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Ian and his wife Gwen Humble reside in Venice Beach, California.
