Ian McShane: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

2. Teddy Bass - Sexy Beast (2000)

Peter O'Toole once said that "great parts make great actors". No matter how highly skilled the performer is or how inventive the direction may be, if the character they present isn't well-written then the audience won't fully suspend their disbelief. McShane has had his fair share of duff roles over the years - we'll come onto those in a minute - but in 2000 he was handed a terrific script with an equally fine character marked out for him. That script became Sexy Beast, and that character was Teddy Bass. Directed by Jonathan Glazer (who later made Under The Skin), Sexy Beast is a crime drama from the team behind Gangster No. 1 and 44 Inch Chest (which also featured McShane). It stars Ray Winstone as Gary 'Gal' Dove, a former safe-cracker who is enjoying his retirement in Spain with his ex-porn star wife DeeDee (Amanda Redman). But his paradise is disrupted by the arrival of Don Logan (a career-best Ben Kingsley), a sociopathic former associate who has been sent from London to recruit Gal for a bank heist. Though a barrage of swear words, violence and other intimidation, Don eventually persuades Gal to take the job. Sexy Beast is a great British crime film, combining wonderfully surreal sequences with some of the most visceral and hysterical language you'll ever come across on screen. While Kingsley rightfully got the lion's share of the plaudits for his performance, McShane is more than capable of filling the void once Don completes his task. Teddy Bass is a meticulous, elegant yet violent man, who is deeply intimidating but so enigmatic that you find yourself wanting to spend more time with him. In any case, anyone who can hold their own against Ray Winstone has really done their homework.