William H. Macy on Playing Frank Gallagher in ‘Shameless’: “It is more like a parlor trick. It ain’t acting”

I've been particularly impressed by William H. Macy's performance as Frank Gallagher on Showtime's Shameless, mostly because it's so much different from roles Macy usually plays.

William H. Macy as Frank Gallagher in ShamelessI’ve been particularly impressed by William H. Macy‘s performance as Frank Gallagher on Showtime’s Shameless, mostly because it’s so much different from roles Macy usually plays.  However, as Macy tells the New York Post, he doesn’t think it takes a whole lot of talent to play Frank.

He explains that playing Frank “is more like a parlor trick.  It ain’t acting.  As a matter of fact, one of the dangers in playing Frank Gallagher is that I walk away congratulating myself on being a great drunk — but I forgot to do the scene.”

However, Macy admits that Frank’s hard-drinking ways hasn’t rubbed off on him.  When asked if playing Frank has changed his own drinking habits, Macy says, “I haven’t been drinking recently. So, I guess no.”

In fact, Macy confesses that he hopes Frank will one day sober up for good.  He explains, “I am his biggest supporter. I love the guy. I think he is smart. I think he tells the truth when nobody else has the guts to. He is very hardworking. He is an entrepreneur. And he is living his life absolutely his way. I am hoping we are going to do this show for many, many years. So I think there is room for many permutations of what Frank does. But yeah. I would love to see a couple of episodes where Frank is sober. But I think it is in the DNA of the show that Frank will always be loaded.”

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