The Film That Lit My Fuse is a Deadline video series that aims to provide an antidote to headlines about industry uncertainty by swinging the conversation back to the creative ambitions, formative influences, and inspirations of some of today’s great screen artists.
Every installment asks the same five questions. Today’s subject is British actor Ian McShane, who started his 60-year screen career in Ralph Thomas’ BAFTA-nominated 1962 feature The Wild and the Willing.
He won a Golden Globe in 2005 for playing Al Swearengen in HBO’s Deadwood, which he described at the time as “the best gig I ever had.” He has straddled both TV and movies, taking on roles in John Wick, Ray Donovan, and Game of Thrones. More recently, he starred in Starz’s American Gods, which has been canceled after three seasons but could return for a TV movie.
In The Film That Lit My Fuse, McShane talks about his love of Sunset Boulevard and the inception of Lovejoy, the series he created for the BBC that helped make his name.
Check out the video above.