Ian McShane’s career has spanned decades, with dozens of film and TV credits as diverse as “Lovejoy,” “Dallas,” “Deadwood,” “Roots” and “Babylon 5: The River of Souls,” and as high-profile as “Game of Thrones,” “The West Wing,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and the animated fare “Shrek the Third.”
Now, McShane stars as the mysterious Mr. Wednesday in Bryan Fuller and Michael Green’s Starz adaptation of the bestselling Neil Gaiman novel “American Gods.” And even with all those years of experience, McShane says it’s not always easy.
“[Sometimes we] spend more than 14 hours on the set,” he said in an interview with TheWrap. “That’s the toughest thing, when the days do get long sometimes … At the end of the week, especially, when they push you into nights.”
“Sometimes you don’t know why you’re reshooting,” he continued. “You could explain it, but you couldn’t exactly, so you have to trust the instincts of Brian and Michael. Which we did. Sometimes I didn’t, but sometimes we did. But that’s part of it, that’s what makes it all the sweeter.”
But even when the days are long and the schedule becomes taxing, McShane says it’s worth it.
“I love my job, always have,” he said. “My dad was a soccer player. My god, I think if I was a soccer player, my career would have finished 40 years ago. So, I’m lucky to be still here even doing it.”