'American Gods' nabs a 'Deadwood' vet to star, and Neil Gaiman is thrilled
When American Gods debuts on Starz, it'll feature none other than Ian McShane -- Deadwood's own Al Swearengen -- in one of the key roles.
McShane is booked to star in the series as Mr. Wednesday, the Old God who takes it upon himself to rally similarly ancient deities for an epic confrontation. The story is adapted from Neil Gaiman's fantasy novel, and the acclaimed author couldn't be more pleased with the casting.
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"When you write a beloved character (beloved with, or despite, or because of all his faults) like Mr. Wednesday, you get to watch the Internet trying to cast the role," a statement from Gaiman reads.
"I've seen a hundred names suggested, but few make me grin like Ian McShane does. I've already been lucky enough to have him in one film (he was bright blue in it, animated, and probably Polish)."
Gaiman's referring to McShane's part in Coraline, a 2009 stop-motion feature that was also based on a Gaiman story.
The Starz adaptation of American Gods comes from writers and showrunners Bryan Fuller (Hannibal) and Michael Green (Heroes). It follows Wednesday and ex-con-turned-bodyguard Shadow Moon (The 100's Ricky Whittle) as they assemble an army of Old Gods.
The brewing confrontation pits Wednesday's crew against an army of New Gods, 21st century deities like "television" and "Internet." As humanity is turned toward these new powers, the Old Gods have lost their influence, and they want to get it back.
McShane should bring the necessary gravitas to Wednesday, who is really just a manifestation of the All-Father Odin, of Norse myth.
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Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
