Ian McShane had no idea his 'Game of Thrones' comments prompted a massive online backlash because he doesn't use social media

He told The Independent newspaper: "It was ridiculous. It was one remark!. The creators of the show loved it because it just gives it more publicity. I didn't even think about it at the time because I'm not on social media.

"Everybody's a critic now. Everybody thinks they know best because they can write anonymously on social media."

He went on to blame social media in part for the demise of his TV show 'American Gods', which came to an end in 2021 after three seasons following a storm of controversy over lines in the script that dealt with race.

Ian added: "There was a lot of controversy about remarks about race. I thought that it was too strongly angry. And it all got immersed in social media ... I think that was part of the reason for the demise, and the sort of lack of interest in the show. People took sides. It diminished itself."

After appearing in the 'John Wick' movie series, Ian will be seen in spin-off film 'Ballerina' and he recently explained why the movie has been pushed back by a year - revealing they are shooting new scenes with stuntman/filmmaker Chad Stahelski in a bid to improve the film.

During an appearance on 'The One Show', Ian said: "It's not reshoots, it's new shoots. You know, it's like they gotta protect the franchise. About a year ago, we did the movie, and they've looked at it, and Chad's come in, and they want to make it better."