Posts tagged ian mcshane

Well shiver me timbers and blow me down, Totalfilm have had a quick chinwag with Ian McShane, an actor I always enjoy watching, about playing the terrifying pirate Blackbeard in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.’

When asked what would differentiate his character from other fearsome pirates McShane replied: “Blackbeard’s the most infamous pirate that ever lived. He was feared by everybody. Probably because he never killed anybody, he just looked so fearsome. He’d light torches in his beard so he could impress everybody, or so the legend goes.”

The British actor was also asked what it feels like joining a franchise that is already three films deep:  “It’s really only Johnny, Geoffrey and Kevin from the other ones – Penelope and I are the two new additions, and there’s a new director, Rob Marshall, who brings a different eye, which I think helps. It’s not going to be exactly the same as the last three shows. So it was a pleasure to shoot it. I was only glad it finished so I could get rid of the beard!” That wasn’t fun then? “It was the heaviest thing – it was like having a dead cat around my face! It was made in three or four pieces and held on by magnets and God knows what else. It took an hour and a half to put on every day. It was sort of spectacular. And combined with Penny Rose’s great costume, he was a real biker pirate – it’s all black leather.”

‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’ is directed by Rob Marshall, and also stars Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, Óscar Jaenada, Kevin McNally, Stephen Graham, Sam Claflin, Gemma Ward, Greg Ellis and Astrid Berges-Frisbey. The film will be released May 20th in the US, and May 18th in the UK.