HBO vet Ian McShane, the star of gritty western ‘Deadwood’ is returning to the cable channel in their current signature drama ‘Game of Thrones.’
McShane was nominated for several awards and won a Golden Globe for his role as wild west crime boss Al Swearengen, but that was just one highlight of his career which began in the 1960s. After ‘Deadwood,’ he also received acclaim and award nominations for his role on ‘Pillars of the Earth’ and played Blackbeard in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.’ He was most recently seen on the Showtime series ‘Ray Donovan.’
McShane’s ‘GoT’ role is a mystery, as is much of the upcoming sixth season. The show, based on George R.R. Martin‘s ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ novel series, has caught up to most of the storylines from the books, so a lot of what appears on upcoming seasons, though scripted in consultation with Martin, will be brand new even to devoted readers.
What little bit is known is that McShane will not get a lot of screen time, but that his character is “of key importance.”
Those familiar with McShane’s weighty performances should be excited about his entrance to Westeros. In addition to his sinister turn on ‘Deadwood’, his role on the period drama ‘Pillars of the Earth’, based on Ken Follett’s novel of the same name should also show that he has what it takes to seamlessly step into this fantasy realm.
‘Game of Thrones’ is currently filming its sixth season in Belfast and is expected to return with ten new episodes in the spring of 2016. It was just revealed that HBO new wants to show to run for at least eight seasons, despite previous statements that the show would run for a total of seven.
What do you think? Are you excited to see Ian McShane enter the world of ‘Game of Thrones?’ Any guesses who he will be playing?
Source: Entertainment Weekly
