Ian McShane

Born: 29th September 1942
Where: Blackburn, Lancashire

Best known to British audiences as the roguish TV antiques dealer Lovejoy, the actor has enjoyed an Indian summer with Hollywood roles in Hot Rod and US TV's Deadwood.

The son of Scottish-born professional footballer Harry McShane, he attended Manchester's Stretford Grammar School, where his drama teacher encouraged him to pursue a career as an actor.

After studying at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, he made his professional stage, film and TV debut all in the same year: 1962.

On the big screen, he played Harry in the romantic drama The Wild and the Willing alongside Virginia Maskell and Samantha Eggar. Funny Noises With Their Mouths opposite Michael Caine was his TV debut.

McShane's subsequent stage credits were as extensive as they were impressive, ranging from centuries-old classics to Tennessee Williams and Joe Orton, including the original staging of Loot.

Early TV roles included the cop drama Z-Cars and he first tasted success as Heathcliff in the 1967 TV adaptation of Wuthering Heights.

In 1966, he attracted attention in cinemas in the romantic comedy Sky West and Crooked opposite Hayley Mills.

Three years later he appeared as Sgt Pilot Andy in the World War II drama Battle of Britain alongside Michael Caine, Kenneth More and Laurence Olivier.

Subsequent big screen appearances - many as a threatening mobster - included Villain opposite Richard Burton but it was on TV that McShane was best known.

He played Judas in the TV dramatisation Jesus of Nazareth and was also Christopher Marlowe in The Life of Shakespeare.

In 1979, he began a turbulent five-year relationship with Emmanuelle star Sylvia Kristel after meeting her on the set of The Fifth Musketeer.

Subsequent work, including mini-series like Young Charlie Chaplin and War and Remembrance - was plentiful but undistinguished until he landed the role of English cad Dan Lockwood in Dallas in 1989.

Appearances followed in Miami Vice but it was back on home territory that he won a legion of admirers during sixty-eight outings as antiques dealer Lovejoy.

In 2000, he appeared as Darryl Van Horne in Cameron Mackintosh's musical The Witches of Eastwick - his first London stage appearance since he starred with Dame Judi Dench in The Promise in the late 1960s.

The same year he also scored again on the big screen opposite a snarling Ben Kingsley in the 2000 British gangster caper Sexy Beast.

The movie marked an upturn in McShane's career with roles following in the kids caper Agent Cody Banks and Woody Allen's fantasy mystery Scoop.

Back in America, he impressed as Al Swearengen in the bleak Western adventure Deadwood and provided a winning performance in the comedy Hot Rod.

(for Deadwood he won the 2005 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Drama and was also nominated for similar awards at the 2005 Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Awards).

He provided voice work for Shrek The Third, The Golden Compass Kung Fu Panda and in 2008 played coach in the action thriller Death Race with Jason Statham.