Ian McShane

Ian McShane is the actor who plays King Silas Benjamin.

Personal Life

Ian McShane

McShane was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, the son of Irene (née Cowley) and Harry McShane, a Scottish-born professional footballer with Manchester United and Hamilton Academical. McShane grew up in Urmston, Manchester and attended Stretford Grammar School.

In 1977, he began a turbulent five-year relationship with Sylvia Kristel after meeting her on the set of The Fifth Musketeer.He is married to Gwen Humble.

McShane is given a less than complimentary mention by singer Mark E. Smith in The Fall song, "A Past Gone Mad".

Career

In the United Kingdom, his best known role may be that of roguish but dashing antiques dealer Lovejoy in the BBC drama series of the same name. He also enjoyed fame in the United States as bounding English cad Don Lockwood in the soap opera Dallas. Even before Lovejoy, McShane was a pin-up as a result of appearances in television series such as Wuthering Heights (1967, as Heathcliff), Jesus of Nazareth (1977, as Judas Iscariot), and Disraeli (1978) — as well as films like Sky West and Crooked (1965) and Battle of Britain (1969).

He had starred in a number of films until 1987 when he made few major film appearances until the turn of the Millennium.

In 1983, he starred in the short-lived NBC prime time soap opera Bare Essence. In 1985, he appeared on Grace Jones' album Slave to the Rhythm, reading an excerpt from Ian Penman's essay The Annihilation of Rhythm. Furthermore, he starred in two Miami Vice episodes in 1987 and 1989; his role in the series' finale episode 'Freefall' as General Manuel Bourbon, the corrupt leader of the fictional central american nation of Costa Morada, was inspired by the real-life downfall of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. Work in the 2000s has included roles in movies Scoop, Sexy Beast, Agent Cody Banks, and We Are Marshall. In the United States, he is perhaps best known for the role of historical figure Al Swearengen in the HBO series Deadwood. For his performance in this role as the storm centre of the series, he won the 2005 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Drama and was also nominated for similar awards at the 2005 and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

In 2000, he appeared as Darryl Van Horne in Cameron Mackintosh's musical The Witches of Eastwick - his first London stage appearance since he starred with Dame Judi Dench in The Promise in the late 1960s. He also made a guest appearance in the third season of The West Wing, playing Russian negotiator Nikolai Ivanovich in the episode Enemies Foreign and Domestic. His most recent roles are the part of Captain Hook in Shrek the Third, the voice of (known as Ragnar Sturlusson in the film) in The Golden Compass, the voice of the evil Tai Lung in Kung Fu Panda (for which he received an Hot Rod, and the voice of Mr. Bobinski, a beet-eating Russian giant in the film Coraline. He is also noteworthy in the pivotal role of Merriman Lyon in The Seeker. nomination), the comedy

During the 2007–2008 season, he starred as Max in the 40th anniversary revival of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming, co-starring Eve Best, , and Michael McKean and directed by , at the Cort Theatre (16 December 2007 through 13 April 2008). Ian Mcshane also starred in Dick Francis Mysteries, which is a made for TV series with three parts, Twice Shy, In the Frame and Blood Sport, in which he played a Jockey Club detective investigating bizarre incidents based around the horse racing industry.

Currently, McShane appears on the NBC television drama series Kings, which is based on the biblical story of David. His portrayal of King Silas Benjamin, an analogue of King Saul, has been highly praised, with one critic saying "Whenever 'Kings' seems to falter, McShane appears to put bite marks all over the scenery."