William H. Macy still has paternal feelings for the actors who played his children on Shameless.
“They’re all doing really well, which is great. And I feel that these sort of are my ersatz kids, so I’m very proud of them,” Macy, 74, said during a Tuesday, May 29, appearance on the “Films to Be Buried With Brett Goldstein” podcast.
Macy played Frank Gallagher, the alcoholic patriarch of the dysfunctional Gallagher family, on Shameless, which aired on Showtime from 2011 to 2021. Emmy Rossum (Fiona), Jeremy Allen White (Philip, a.k.a “Lip”), Ethan Cutkosky (Carl), Emma Kenney (Debbie), Christian Isaiah (Liam) and Emily Bergl (Sammi) played his children. Cameron Monaghan portrayed his nephew Ian, whom Frank raised as his son.
Macy said on Tuesday that it was “very, very sad” to say goodbye to his onscreen family when the show ended after 11 seasons. “I do miss them,” he said.
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The actor previously praised White, 33, after his steamy underwear campaign for Calvin Klein made headlines.
“He’s got a huge career. I’m really proud of him. I’m such a fan of [his FX on Hulu show] The Bear,” Macy
told Entertainment Tonight in March, joking that he “had to speak” to White about his underwear ad. “You know, as his father [I had to say], ‘Put your pants on.’”
Macy also defended Rossum, 37, when she decided to leave Shameless in 2018 after nine seasons.
“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,” he told Entertainment Weekly in August 2018. “I wish her well. I can’t wait to see what she’s going to do next.”
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Rossum spoke to the “real friendships” the Shameless cast and crew had formed during a lengthy Instagram post announcing her exit.
“I can say for certain that this cast and crew, who I’ve been truly honored to work alongside, are world class. I am proud and I’m filled with gratitude,” she wrote.
Macy also spoke highly of his time on the show on Tuesday, noting that he “loved” the experience.
“At first, I brought my old habits into it, which is struggling with all the scenes and wanting rewrites and quizzing everything, and I carried it so heavily,” he said. “But just the fact that we did it for so long, I finally calmed down, and boy, did my acting improve, and, boy, did people like me better.”
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In addition to his large brood on Shameless, Macy is a real-life dad to daughters Sophia, 23, and Georgia, 22, whom he shares with wife Felicity Huffman. The family was thrust into the spotlight in 2019 when Huffman, 61, was indicted on fraud and conspiracy charges as part of a federal investigation of college admissions bribery.
Huffman pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud after admitting to paying $15,000 to boost her daughter’s SAT scores. No charges were filed against Macy. In September 2019, Huffman was sentenced to 14 days in prison, of which she served 10 days.
