Shameless: One Quote From Each Main Character That Sums Up Their Personality
There are few series quite like Shameless, which takes an unflinching look at American poverty and the many strategies that the Gallagher family develops to deal with it. Like any great premium cable drama, a major part of the series’ appeal and its long-running success is its cast of characters, each of whom has a personality and a rich arc that is all their own.
During its long run, these characters enjoyed excellent dialogue, and many of their quotes do an excellent job of summing up their fundamental personalities.
Frank Gallagher is one of William H. Macy’s best roles. Chronically unemployed and a huckster of phenomenal abilities, Frank is the type of person who lives life on his own terms and has absolutely no regrets. However, he also fancies himself a bit of a philosopher, as he demonstrates with this quote. What’s most disturbing is that, despite the many irresponsible things he does, he also possesses a sort of wisdom steeped in his experience.
Fiona is one of the most likable characters on Shameless, particularly in the early seasons. For quite a while, she sacrifices much of her own happiness so that she can provide the stability that her siblings desperately need. However, the truth is that she is also constantly sabotaging her own life, and this quote shows that, on some level, she knows that this is what she’s doing. She is a complex and contradictory character, which is precisely what makes her so compelling.
As one of the younger members of the Gallagher family, Carl sometimes struggles to find his place. However, he has his own cunning sort of intelligence, and he clearly takes after his father, as this quote illustrates. While on the surface he seems to be decrying bullying, right afterward he does the very thing that he’s condemning.
It’s a perfect distillation of his character, and it shows how very much he is like his father Frank and the less savory members of his family.
V. is another of the best characters on Shameless, and as Fiona’s friend she often finds herself pulled into Gallagher drama. She has an irreverent and sometimes caustic approach to life, including her own pregnancy. When she discovers that she’s having triplets, for example, she exclaims that she’s having a “litter.” It’s a hilarious line, to be sure, but it also shows how V. is able to greet almost any situation with a humorous one-liner.
V.’s husband Kevin is not quite as intelligent as his wife, but he still has his own earthy form of wisdom. In fact, he is responsible for some of the series’ best one-liners, most of which reveal that he knows more about what’s going on around him than he likes to let on. In particular, he’s not afraid to tell people when he thinks that they’re behaving foolishly, and he clearly has a way of putting together a metaphor.
Debbie can, at times, be one of the most disagreeable members of the Gallagher family, and she did some bad things during her time on the show. However, as this line demonstrates, she also has depths to her. Like many of the others, she sometimes struggles to put her feelings into words or to deal with them in a healthy way.
At the same time, she is also a very rebellious spirit that chafes against the restrictions that others, including Fiona, try to put on her.
There’s no question that Lip is one of the smartest characters on Shameless. However, he also has a tendency to get in his own way, and his actions are sometimes almost indescribably foolish. At the same time, he has a deeply philosophical way of looking at the world around him, and he tends to be able to take things in stride. As this quote shows, he has the ability to shrug at terrible things and continue moving on with his life rather than getting burdened with regret.
Ian is one of the series most fascinating characters, and he has many struggles throughout his storyline. He struggles with his mental health and with finding a romantic partner that he is truly happy with, and he is arguably one of the best LGBT characters in television. He is also at times deeply introspective, and it’s clear from this quote, and from his actions during his time on the show, that all he really wants is to find a measure of happiness, even if he isn’t sure how to do so.
Mickey, Ian’s boyfriend–and eventual husband–has an even more vexed relationship with his sexuality, compounded by the fact that his father is both homophobic and abusive. As this quote shows, he’s also very blunt with talking about how he feels, and he’s not afraid to tell Ian that he is being privileged in terms of being able to speak about his feelings. Despite his prickly nature, he remains one of the series’ best and most likable characters.
Joan Cusack has been in many great roles, and Sheila Jackson is one of those. Though she only appears in the first few seasons of the series, she nevertheless manages to make quite an impression. She is prone to deep pits of emotion, as this quote shows. Like so many of the other characters on this series, it’s clear that what she wants is to just be happy, though she doesn’t always know how to go about achieving that goal.