On these shores he may still be ‘that bloke with the mullet from Lovejoy’ but our cousins across the pond lavish Ian McShane with the praise he deserves.
His jaw-dropping spit and guts performance as Al Swearengen in hit western show Deadwood has no doubt helped the flow of scripts to McShane’s doormat.
Next up for the Blackburn-born star is a turn in We Are Marshall - the story of a 1970s town coming to terms with the repercussions of a tragic plane crash that saw almost the entire college football team perish.
McShane will play an executive of the local steel mill who lost a son in the crash. Ian’s character fights the attempts of some to re-introduce the football program at the University.
Lining up alongside ol’ Lovejoy are Matthew McConaughey and David Strathairn - all under the watchful eye of Charlie’s Angels lenser McG.