Ian McShane: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

1. Al Swearengen - Deadwood (TV, 2004-06)

While much of his best work has been in supporting roles, McShane should never be written off as nothing more than a very good second banana. On the rare occasions when he's had the limelight almost to himself, he has frequently delivered powerhouse performances which play on his unique delivery and domineering masculinity. But for all the good films he's been a part of, there is no better example than his role in Deadwood, for which he won a Golden Globe back in 2005. Created by David Milch of NYPD Blue fame, Deadwood is the story of the eponymous community in South Dakota. Set in the 1870s, when the future states of North and South Dakota were one territory, the series charts the rise of the community from its beginnings as a gold-mining camp to becoming a fully-fledged capitalist town. The show interweaves fiction and reality, with Milch drawing on historical diaries of Deadwood's residents to bring many of its most famous residents to life. McShane plays Al Swearengen, a ruthless and brutal man who runs the Gem Saloon and forms a series of murky political alliances over the show's three-year run. It would be easy for him to be played as a pantomime bad guy, but McShane find the humanity in him and in doing so makes him all the more monstrous and intimidating. As much as we disapprove of his abusive and murderous tendencies, we understand his motivations and his desire to bring Deadwood into the fold of the Dakota Territory. He creates a multi-layered, uniquely formed antagonist, and it remains his finest work to date. Having seen McShane's brilliance in Deadwood, now let's turn to the times when he was genuinely wooden...