Starz’s new original series, American Gods, begins airing April 30th. The Knockturnal got to sit down with several of the stars, including Ricky Whittle and Ian McShane. McShane plays Mr. Wednesday, while Whittle plays Shadow Moon. The two stars talk with us about their roles, their duo dynamic, and the way American Gods explores faith.
The Knockturnal: Can you tell us who your characters are in the show?
Ian McShane: (jokingly) Well, I’m Shadow Moon, and he plays Mr. Wednes-
Ricky Whittle: I’m Bilquis.
McShane: No, but actually, they made us stay characters. They made me play Mr. Wednesday, and they made him play Shadow Moon.
Whittle: Well, they said you were so devious, mischievous, and charismatic that you had to play Mr. Wednesday, because he’s basically you. Then I’m really broody, moody, and don’t say much, so I’m Shadow.
The Knockturnal: Can you talk a bit more about your character dynamic, as you two share a lot of screen time?
Whittle: When we first meet Shadow, he’s just been released from prison, and he’s lost his wife, who was pretty much his everything in life. So he’s broken, he’s lost, he’s this empty vessel meandering through life on the way to his wife’s funeral. He’s got nothing really left to live for, he’s a cynic, a nonbeliever. Then he’s taken under the wing of this mysterious con man, named Mr. Wednesday.
McShane: Who you don’t know who Wednesday is- well, you find out pretty quick. If you know your Norse mythology, you’ll know who he is. But it’s reveal upon reveal. I mean, why do I take him on? Why do I pick Shadow to be my bodyguard, my protector, my driver, whatever? Because I need help. I’m a small-time grifter, a con-man, going across America. And I pick up this guy, an ex-con, who’s not gonna get another job, so that’s what you think is going on. But that’s not what’s really going on.
The Knockturnal: Since you are gathering your forces for this conflict between the Old and New Gods, can you talk about that faith-centric journey?
McShane: Wednesday’s just tired of the adoration of the new gods which, if you like, the new technology. I think that’s what Gaiman talks about in his book. America’s a country of immigrants, people came here, they brought their gods with them. And those gods have gradually, over the years, been diminished. Now we worship iPhones, and things we have a tenuous relationship with. There’s nothing grounded, and he’s trying to get to some kind of grounding. He’s saying that “if you don’t believe, you lose faith in everything.” He’s trying to get back to belief. And of course he’s just as capricious and willful as the gods he thinks are bad, but Wednesday is Wednesday, he’s just a bit more charming than them. Am I right, Ricky?
Whittle: Oh you’re very charming.
McShane: Thank you.
The Knockturnal: Shadow is pretty faithless coming out of prison. How does his journey with Mr. Wednesday reinvigorate his faith?
Whittle: Well, his struggle for the first season especially is that he struggles to believe in anything. He has lost everything, and Mr. Wednesday is constantly telling him “look what’s in front of your eyes.” It really is an awaking for Shadow, in the first season. As an intelligent man, his first thought is always to go for a logical answer. So when he starts seeing these fantastical elements, he can make excuses. He was high, he was imagining it, did it really happen? So his struggle is not necessarily with Mr. Wednesday, it’s more with himself. Mr. Wednesday says “is he going crazy, or is the world crazy?” Is he actually seeing this? That’s gonna be his struggle for the first season, does he believe what’s actually in front of his eyes?
