William H. Macy on Emmy Rossum’s ‘Shameless’ Exit: “She’s Made the Right Choice”
We were surprised and saddened to hear that Emmy Rossum, star of the show since it first aired in 2011, would be leaving Shameless.
Rossum plays Fiona Gallagher on the Showtime series Shameless, and her TV father, William H. Macy, was asked about her departure Friday.
Entertainment Weekly reports that Macy was not surprised by her departure.
“We’ve been expecting it. I tell you, when you get to season 9 and you think of [whether] to keep going, it’s daunting. It’s hard not to think of: ‘What would my life be post-Shameless?’ And part of it is very frightening and part of it is very exciting. She’s young and I think she’s made the right choice. She’s got another show that she’s an executive producer on, so she’s going right into something and she wants to branch out. Plus, she just got married. I wish her well. I can’t wait to see what she’s going to do next.”
68 year old Macy plays her father on the show, but also seems to be very supportive of her real-life decision to leave the show.
“Fiona is a part of me and has been like every character is a part of you and you are a little bit part of them. My Shameless family is really my second family and I’ve spent so much time with them — 10,000 hours — that it really feels like we’ve all grown up together. I started on the show when I was 23 and now I’m not. [Laughs.] And it’s a wonderful, wonderful amount of time and I feel incredibly proud of everything we have created. I’m just filled with gratitude for everyone’s hard work.”
She also added that she believes there is more story to tell on the long running series. Macy agreed with her sentiment.
“Totally. It’s a well conceived show from the outset. It’s a perfect number of characters, especially with Kev and V,” opines Macy, who has received three Emmy nominations for his portrayal of Frank Gallagher. “And the other genius thing about it is that there are kids and they’ve been growing up and as they grow up it opens up a brand new world of plot possibilities. My character is a little bit more problematical, because I’m playing a character that by definition doesn’t change. But they’ve done a magnificent job of figuring out where to go with this thing — and it’s exciting.”
Rossum on the other hand, has potential to move onto newer, great things. In the past, she starred in huge films like The Day After Tomorrow and played role of Christine The Phantom of the Opera 2004 film.
Shameless will return to Showtime on September 9th.
Micajah McGregor, Editor in Chief of FanFest.com and renowned entertainment journalist, graduated from USC with a focus on Journalism and Film Studies. With an MBA from The Wharton School, he began his career at “PopCulture Pulse” and has been instrumental in shaping FanFest into a prime entertainment news source. Known for his financial analysis of celebrity net worths, Micajah received the ‘Digital Editor of the Year’ award in 2018. He’s also an active blogger, sharing his passion for superhero films and ’90s TV. Contact him at [email protected] for engaging entertainment insights.
