Actor Ian McShane will play the central role of Mr. Wednesday in an adaptation of Neil Gaiman‘s fantasy novel ‘American Gods‘ for the Starz cable television network.
McShane is best known for his roles in Deadwood, American Horror Story, and Lovejoy. He’ll be in the upcoming 6th season of Game of Thrones.
From the Hollywood Reporter:
The drama centers on a war brewing between old and new gods: the traditional gods of biblical and mythological roots from around the world steadily losing believers to an upstart pantheon of gods reflecting society’s modern love of money, technology, media, celebrity and drugs. Its protagonist, Shadow Moon (The 100’s Ricky Whittle), is an ex-con who becomes bodyguard and traveling partner to Mr. Wednesday, a con man but in reality one of the older gods, on a cross-country mission to gather his forces in preparation for a battle with the new deities.
McShane’s Mr. Wednesday is described as powerful and charismatic — a Casanova of sorts — who is a con man and an incarnation of All-Father Odin, who’s traveling America recruiting his fellow forgotten deities to wage an epic battle against the new American gods.