10 Reasons You MUST Finally Watch Deadwood
2. Ian McShane As Al Swearengen
The character of Al Swearengen has already had more than a few mentions but there's a good reason for that. He's one of the show's best, most interesting and most important characters.
Swearengen is the owner of The Gem, a raucous bar and brothel, a popular haunt in the Deadwood camp. But he's not simply a pimp, he's a brazen and ambitious businessman, involved in almost all the goings-on in the camp and he's also unafraid to speak his mind or eliminate those that get in his way. Whilst he's also a violent and unsavoury drunk, he still manages to be both charming and endearing.
Ian McShane is exceptional in this role, clearly relishing the opportunity to embody a character that is simultaneously filthy and despicable, yet still charming and likeable. He's something of an antihero.
It's a truly masterful, spellbinding performance that deservedly earned McShane a Television Critics Association Award and a Golden Globe.