Ricky Whittle and Ian Mcshane in American Gods
Whether playing a mystery-solving antique dealer in Lovejoy or a foul-mouthed saloon owner in Deadwood, Ian McShane has always kept his emotions on a leash on screen. He acts with his eyes, his crow’s feet,his choice in swear-words. And then came reports that the actor had been in “screaming matches” with the showrunner of his latest big-budget prestige TV project. Had McShane been McShamed?
He denied it – sort of. “I think somebody said I shouted,” he said in 2019. “I never shouted at Jesse at all…. Shouted at other people.”
“Jesse” is Jesse Alexander, today the very much former showrunner of Amazon/Starz drama American Gods. He was given the top job going into season two of the lavish urban fantasy, which comes with a per episode budget approaching that of Game of Thrones. Shortly afterwards, stories surfaced of him and McShane bickering at volume and of McShane ignoring the script in favour of improvising his