English actor, born September 29, 1942 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England.
Children: Kate McShane (b. 1971), Morgan McShane (b. 1975).
Father was Harry McShane, the Manchester United footballer.
Grew up in Manchester.
After over 40 years in the business, he has finally struck it big internationally with his performance as the macho, gruffly-complex villain, Al Swearengen, on the HBO series, "Deadwood" .
An appealing romantic lead in several hit movies of the sixties, by the late seventies he had progressed to character parts, such as the title roles in the BBC "Disraeli" and the very popular TV series "Lovejoy" .
His favorite shows are "Family Guy" and "The Simpsons" . In a 2010 interview he remarked "They tell you whats happening in the world. Best shows on television".
His father was Scottish. His mother, who was English-born, was of Irish and English ancestry.
Lives in the Venice beach area of Los Angeles.
Quit smoking in 2011.
Gave up drinking in 1988.
That was a volatile time in my life. Lunacy. Off the rails for a year,and a half. Sylvia was a great girl, but we were hardly seeing each,other towards the end, because we were always away filming in different,parts of the world and then, when we did meet, we would fight.
I became a high-functioning alcoholic and drug taker. I would always,remember my lines, and always be on time, but some of the films I was,in then I have no recollection of having done them.
My dad was a football player - a soccer player - for Manchester United, and I loved playing football, but I also happened to be the guy in class who was pretty good at sight reading. My teacher gave me scripts, and I was very comfortable.
