Ian McShane Though he's got Tony Soprano
to contend with, gritty Brit Ian McShane may be the toughest, most iconic badass
to appear on TV -- ever. And his show (the brilliant Western "Deadwood") only lasted three seasons. But it took only one
episode to recognize McShane's
... morefoul-mouthed, gorgeously eloquent saloon owner Al
Swearengen as something extra special. A charmingly wicked force of nature, the
rugged, harshly handsome 66-year-old has been around, working the stage (he
appeared in the original stage production of Joe Orton's "Loot," and recently
handled Harold Pinter with ease), screen (earlier in his career with Richard Burton, in a tough movie appropriately titled "Villain," and as a wizened prisoner in "Death Race"), and, as we all know, TV (and if you haven't
seen "Deadwood" then you're a sorry you-know-what). Though he's busy on the
small screen ("Kings")
and will appear in a few upcoming pictures ("Case 39," "44 Inch Chest," and as a voice in "Coraline"), we want to see more leading roles for this
blue-eyed bad boy on the big screen. "Deadwood" the movie? One can dream.
(Sara De Boer/Retna)Close