Not having watchedThe Wirein its entirety.
I only made it through three seasons, Whittle shrugs, I just got bored.
she persists, outraged.
McShane takes his seat and nods towards Whittle.
He hasnt even seenDeadwood.
insists Whittle, hanging his head and laughing.
Deadwood, says Browning, is her dads favourite show of all time.
When she told him she was going to act alongside McShane inAmerican Gods, he freaked out.
Thank you darling, says McShane, warmly.
Give him my love.
Its almost a shame to start the interview.
You look like him!
Youre growing your facial hair to look more like Pablo.
I thought I was sitting next to Pablo for a minute!
Im auditioning forDragon Ball Znext, for when were on hiatus jokes Whittle good-naturedly.
And then its time for the interview to start.
His wife is one of his demons!
says Browning of her character, the recently deceased Laura Moon.
His wife is literally one of his demons, agrees Whittle.
He had a bit of aggression to let out and a six foot six leprechaun was the perfect recipient!
He was feeling a lot of rage in that scene.
Then along comes the mysterious Mr Wednesday [McShane] to offer Shadow a job.
Who else is going to hire an ex-con fresh out of prison?
He hires him as his bodyguard and his chauffeur and thats all I can say about Mr Wednesday!
Periodically, he shoots questions into the darkness: Can we say [redacted]?.
Were not actively pushing that at this stage comes the careful response.
Predictably, theyre all the best bits.
In previous interviews, McShane has said that the key to finding his characters starts with their shoes.
Find the right shoes and youve got the character, he says.
Is that true of Mr Wednesday?
You start with the coat.
This time we started with a coat.
Its a little thing, but it gives you everything, a flow… No, no, thats what hes fighting against, McShane makes clear.
Whatever [Mr Wednesday] is, hes fighting against those very things.
It couldnt be more topical.
Charm is key to Mr Wednesday then.
Hes a hustler and a charmer?
Thats what he is, McShane agrees.
Thats what hes written as and thats what he is.
Hes capricious, he just ploughs through.
Wednesday just goes on, he doesnt give a monkeys.
He carries on straight through.
Im surprised some of the time [laughing] people just dont knock him out.
He just keeps on talking!
Hes always prodding the bear, prodding the bear!
Then he eventually gives the bear some honey to stop them from ripping his head off.
Hes got this charismatic charm, he wins everyone over that he meets, especially Shadow.
Shadow needs a job, says McShane.
Everybody has their own opinion, which is absolutely fine as long as I dont have to read it!
Browning laughs and he reiterates.
You hear oh, this programmes terrible, well why watch it?
Youve got five hundred channels, why dont you just flip it!
Anyway, he smiles broadly.
Fortunately this happened before the political climate became very… heated.
Thats one way of putting it!
You just hope they have a really entertaining time Whittle concludes.
The show features a lot of stuff thats going to speak to a lot of people.
But its not in your face, adds McShane.
Its not a political satire.
This is telling a story about people and their individual faith.
I dont think its pushing an agenda in any way, says Browning.
Its just pushing people to question what it is they worship and what they believe in.
What does each of their characters worship in the show?
My character, when shes alive, doesnt worship anything.
The same for Shadow.
He lost his mother at an early age, he never knew his father.
Hes always been looking for a place to just be, hes a lost soul.
In Laura he finds a home, thats his everything.
When she passes away, hes lost his world so hes just looking for somewhere to be.
When she comes back, its very confusing for him, because…
Shes decomposing?
I think she loves him but I dont think she really knows what love means.
Whittle continues, and then he becomes domesticated and loses that excitement for her.
She gets kind of bored, says Browning.
Fans are in no danger of that with this series, they all assure me.
The finales mind-blowing says Whittle, and Ian has a fantastic speech.
A monologue by Orlando Jones, says McShane, is incredibly powerful,incredibly.
This show really has a lot of legs to run several seasons.
Its a complicated job, they all agree, but very worthwhile.
American Gods launched exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on 1st May
