Ian McShane swore to himself every morning to prepare for the ‘Deadwood’ movie.
The 76-year-old actor has reprised his role as saloon owner Al Swearengen for the first time since the HBO series ended in 2006 and he admitted it was "surreal" portraying his foul-mouthed alter ego once again.
He told Empire magazine: "It was surreal, an out-of-body experience. I had a month after we finished ‘American Gods’ to grow back the facial hair and get the moustache.
"I would mutter to myself, ‘C**ksucker, motherf**ker, c**ksucker, motherf**ker’ every morning o get myself back in the mood to play Al. I’m half-joking, but it was a treat to go back."
While he enjoyed the return, Ian believes the movie is a final farewell to the series.
He said: "I think this will be the last one. It’s a love letter to the series and a love letter to all the characters. It’s a goodbye. Because this is the final time."
And the actor found a scene with Paula Malcomson’s Trixie particularly emotional to film.
He added: "We all got choked up every time we did it. I guess because you’re looking at each other and saying, ‘This is the last time we’ll be playing these characters’.
"In your own head, you’re signing off, going, ‘Well – goodbye old pal, I’ll see you later. I’ll see you down the road.’ "
Ian recently teased fans his character has changed since he was last seen on screen.
He said: "Al is not exactly what he used to be. I mean you can’t drink that much and not be."
But he was still delighted to return to the story.
He added: "When I was on the road, it would be on and I would watch, and I’d finish up, smiling to myself, ‘it’s a really good show’.
"It was a great show, a terrific show. No bones about it. We did three years. A lot of shows don’t get that."
Ian McShane had foul mouthed tactic for Deadwood movie
