Shameless will go down in history as being one of the most insane, crazy, and wild TV dramas of all time. The show focuses on six children growing up in a dysfunctional household trying to take care of each other and themselves despite the fact that they never really had any great parental guidance.
Their mother disappeared to live her own reckless life (until she passed away) and their father, even though he was always nearby, was too busy getting intoxicated to be a real father figure. The cast who brought all of these characters to life has done an excellent job adding to the realisticness of the insanity. Shameless premiered in 2011 and will come to an end in April 2021. Here’s with the cast of the show has had to say about it.
10 William H. Macy
The wildcard character of Frank was played by William H. Macy. Frank was the deadbeat father everyone would hate to have in real life. He said, "I take great pride in being the worst father on television. At the end of the day, Frank is an optimist. He’s serendipitous and an optimist. He thinks things are going to get better. He’s got a wicked sense of humor. He sees the irony in life. He’s an instant party wherever he goes. He’s smart, he’s knowledgeable and he’s a rascal." Referring to Frank as a rascal is an understatement. Frank got wrapped up in serious issues in nearly every single episode but that was part of what made him so hilarious.
9 Emmy Rossum
The character of Fiona, played by Emmy Rossum, carried the show on her shoulders until parting ways at the end of season 9. Emmy Rossum enjoyed playing Fiona a lot! She said, "I just love this character. I love her fierce loyalty to her family. I love the extremities of the situations that this family is in and the outrageous stuff that they let us do. We’re lucky enough to be on a network that encourages that." It was a major bummer to see the character of Fiona leave before the show came to an end.
8 Jeremy Allen White
Landing the leading role of Lip was life-changing for Jeremy Allen White. The character of Lip is the oldest born son in the family. He revealed, "I got the job [to play Lip Gallagher] right out of high school. I was living at home at the time, and my folks were like, 'You’re going to have to get a real job soon.' I was so stoked just to get the pilot and go out to L.A., I didn’t even think about it going beyond that." The show went way beyond its initial pilot. Fans were obsessed from the very start and wanted to see more...eleven seasons more.
7 Cameron Monaghan
One of the reasons Shameless was so good was the fact that Cameron Monaghan was cast in a leading role. He described his time on the show saying, "[Shameless] is a show that I deeply enjoy working on, not only because of my co-workers but also because of the challenge of the material itself, which combines this level of comedy and drama and absurdity but also this real-world commentary on what it means to be a person. That stuff is so intoxicating to be a part of." The show is absolutely absurd in a way that is so addictive to watch.
6 Laura Slade Wiggins
Laura Slade Wiggins played the role of Karen on Shameless. When asked if she preferred Karen the bad girl or Karen the brain-damaged girl, she responded saying, "I actually like playing bad Karen better! She has so much spunk. Even though she would do horrible things... But, it’s also fun now playing her without having any of her bad memories."
Bad girl Karen was problematic in all of the worst ways. Remember when she cheated on Lip and gave birth to someone else's child at the hospital? She was really conniving and selfish. Brain-damaged Karen wasn't fully aware of what she was doing or saying-- but she was a lot nicer.
5 Shanola Hampton
Shanola Hampton was totally in sync with the character she plays on Shameless, Veronica. She revealed, “When I was struggling to have children, Veronica was also struggling — but crazily enough, people think they wrote that Veronica finally got pregnant because I was pregnant in real life and that’s not true at all." In reality, the show creators were already planning to make Veronica pregnant in the show before they even knew that Shanola had gotten pregnant in real life!
4 Ethan Cutkosky
Ethan Cutkosk got a lot of help from William H. Macy when preparing for various scenes of Shameless. Ethan explained, "[William] very much helped me learn my lines and that was repetitive when I was young and now I have that instilled in me. I always give him credit for that. I also got to take in and learn from him as a character. As I’m growing older, I become more aware of this stuff."
The influential help he received from William really did positively benefit him. he played a believable bad boy through the first several seasons and a believable kid trying to turn over a new leaf in the later seasons.
3 Noel Fisher
Noel Fisher is part of one of the sweetest LGBTQ fictional love stories on TV. He discussed his experience saying, "It's been a pretty unique experience portraying a character and love story that's touched so many people and seems to have struck a chord. It's not something I saw coming. I don't know if it's something that you can see coming. It makes me smile every time I think of it or any time I run into someone it has touched or especially people that have had similar experiences. That's a really lovely thing for me." The LGBTQ community is grateful to see such a loving gay couple portrayed on a show that is otherwise quite messy and insane.
2 Steve Howey
Steve Howey played the part of Kevin on Shameless and he did an incredible job pulling it off. He talked about the show saying, "Eleven seasons is a rarity. The cast and crew - specifically the cast - we all grew up together. Shinola [Hampton] and I are partners in this [show]. We grew to develop a really tight friendship and she's turned into one of my best friends. I'm very close with everyone else as well." Kevin is a bit of a ditzy airhead on the show but Steve isn't really that way in real life.
1 Emma Kenney
Watching the character of Debbie grow up from an innocent little girl into a woman making questionable choices was... interesting to say the least. Emma Kenney talked about her character in the show saying, "Debbie is a character I’ve turned into a human being. People feel they have watched her grow up. The fact Debbie and I both have human emotions is the only real similarity. Debbie is in a much more positive mindset and has a killer work ethic, which is super exciting and inspiring to play. She’s dedicated and strong and has her eyes on the prize." (Medium.) Debbie was easy to root for at the beginning but much harder to cheer for towards the end.