Emmy Rossum says the nudity involved in playing Fiona Gallagher on “Shameless” created complications far beyond the screen, with men bringing assumptions about her sexuality into her dating life.
Speaking with Maria Sharapova on an episode of “Pretty Tough,” Rossum reflected on the personal consequences of starring in the series for nine seasons.
“It got quite tricky because of the nudity on the show,” Rossum said. “All of the guys that I would go out with had preconceived notions of who I was or how I was sexually.”
Those assumptions sometimes led to conversations Rossum described as “bizarre.” She recalled one particularly striking exchange with a man who wanted to pursue a political career and worried that her on-screen exposure could affect his ambitions.
“He was like, ‘I really want to be president someday.’ And I was like, ‘Wow, that’s a great goal,’” Rossum said.
According to the actor, the man then asked whether dating her might become a liability if he sought public office.
“He’s like, ‘But I feel like running for office dating someone who’s been exposed in the way that you have — do you think that would be tricky for me?’” Rossum recalled. “And I was like, ‘This is an insane conversation to have.’”
Growing Up While Playing Fiona Gallagher
Rossum was just 24 when she began “Shameless,” placing her at a formative point in both her personal life and her work as an actor. Looking back, she said dating was already complicated by the process of discovering who she was while establishing herself as an artist.
“You’re trying to figure out who you are,” she said. “You’re coming into your own as an artist.”
At the same time, Rossum felt that audiences and potential partners could blur the boundary between an actor and the material depicted through that actor’s body.
“And there’s also all these preconceived notions about you that are out there that are associated with [you] because your body is your art, right?” she said. “And people can get confused.”
Her comments describe a disconnect between performance and private identity: The intimate material presented as part of her work became something dates used to form expectations about her off-screen.
Rossum’s Career Before “Shameless”
Before taking on Fiona Gallagher, Rossum had appeared in “The Day After Tomorrow,” “Mystic River” and “The Phantom of the Opera.” Her performance in “The Phantom of the Opera” earned her a Golden Globes nomination.
But “Shameless,” and particularly its nude scenes, brought a different kind of attention into her personal relationships. Rossum’s recollections on “Pretty Tough” show how the visibility attached to the role followed her into private conversations, including dates who treated a fictional performance as a reflection of how she was sexually.
For Rossum, the experience was not simply about navigating recognition. It meant confronting assumptions at a time when she was still defining herself, both personally and creatively, while others believed they already understood her because of what they had seen on-screen.