Steve Howey – Shameless

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) I did a movie that will probably come out sometime this year called Unleashed where I play a dog that turns into a man. That was a fun little tale, a romantic comedy about a girl (Kate Macucci) who has man troubles and her two loyal companions (a male dog and male cat) on a magical lunar night turn into adult men. The cat is played by Justin Chatwin (Shameless alum) and myself. It was a lot of fun! I played a Labrador.

Q) Where do we pick up with Season 6 of “Shameless” and with Kevin?

A) There is a lot going on. We have the twins. Kevin is still running the bar. He and Veronica (Shanola Hampton) are back together and tighter than ever. We have some new neighbors that we are dealing with, which I really love. I love the guest cast that they bring in. It’s new flavors, new music to deal with. Mickey (Noel Fisher) goes to jail so we have his wife (his baby mama) Svetlana come into our life a little bit more. You’ll see with her interaction there is a triangle that happens with Kevin, Veronica and Svetlana. We’re still part of the whole Gallagher clan and help in any way, but there is a lot of stuff going on at the Alibi. We’re dealing with hipsters, dealing with the same regulars and Frank (William H. Macy).

Q) We get to see some great guest stars this season. Will guest star Will Sasso be a friend or foe?

A) He is a little of both, but Will plays Yanis. He is amazing! The episode that he is in is brilliant. We did an episode in Chicago where he is screaming at the top of his lungs and I had to match him and I almost lost my voice! But it was a lot of fun. He’s a friend of mine. I did a pilot with him like ten years ago. So, we go back. I love big men that are sweet and nice. He’s super talented and he just brought so much. He’s more friend. I have to protect him from our other neighbors, The Lisa’s, the lesbian duo that moves in. They don’t like him, his dogs or his motorcycle. So, I basically have to be a peacemaker amongst the neighbors.

Q) How have you grown and matured along with Kevin?

A) Kevin has come a long way from just being Kevin and Veronica to now having a family. I think that will change anybody. The juxtaposition between myself and Kevin is not that far off, just because we both have families and we have both been in committed relationships and we both tend to get into trouble at times. For anyone that goes from living in a relationship and starting a family, everything changes. Having kids can literally bring you closer or it can break you up. I actually deal with that with my own life. It was really easy just being the two of us and then when we had a kid it was really hard on us, just like Kevin and Veronica. So, there are a lot of parallels between Kevin and I’s life – except I make a lot more money than Kevin does and I live in LA. I think the maturity level of taking over the bar and running then, having a family and then realizing it is not just partying and drinking all the time anymore. It’s not Veronica as a sex toy – she’s now a partner.

Q) What continues to make Kevin and Veronica work as a couple?

A) I think sex has a lot to do with it. I think when you have really good sex you are calm. Communication – they know how to talk to each other. They both wear their heart on their sleeves. They are both fragile and emotional people and they need each other for that. They need each other to take care of each other. I think they made that decision a long time ago and they are not going to go back on it. They need each other to live, like a vital organ. You’re not going to say, “I’m okay with just one of my lungs,” or, “I don’t need my heart.” They just have to have it in order to survive. And it’s also one of those things where who knows why? Who knows why they get along so well, but they need each other. Kevin grew up in foster care and so he didn’t really have that strong family security of anyone who loves him. And I think because Veronica loves him so strongly he loves her that much more intensely. That’s his family. That’s his everything. They have a problem and they break up in Season 5, but they get back together and consummate their relationship again with some lovely sex on the pool table with pipe water dripping all over their bodies. It was beautiful for them, but awful for us because the water wasn’t that warm.

Q) Is there a moment from Season 6 that you are most looking forward to fans seeing?

A) Yes, I will say this – if you think that the threesome with his mother-in-law…Let’s just say, there is another threesome happening and it is a little bit more involved and intense. It’s a little more intimate.

Q) What do you think it is about “Shameless” that continues to make it so compelling?

A) I think it’s the stories. I think it is based in truth. The stories are based in real life situations that a lot of people go through and on top of that there is a lot of levity and humor. “Shameless” is not for everyone, but the fans that really, really love it I think they see themselves in a lot of the characters or they know family members like the characters. Also, it is a big cast so there are so many different flavors and you are not getting overwhelmed by just one or two all the time. You get this nice medley, this different range of colors in every episode. I think that has a lot to do with it. Again, it’s the stories. The writers do such an amazing job and we just go along with it and try to bring it to life the best we can. It’s a tough question because everyone has their different reasons for liking it. From what I heard, some people like it because there is nothing like it on television, some say just because they want to see what happens next and some say it is because the acting is so good or it reminds them of someone. I don’t really want to know why. I’m just grateful that it is liked so much and accepted I just love playing in it.

Q) What do you hope people take away from watching the show?

A) I really think this season is one of our best. I really do. I think people are going to love it or hate it. People are either going to love it or hate it. Like a good piece of art or anything that has to do with a subjective opinion, like art, that is what the best art does. It makes people either love it or hate it. There is a conversation about it and I think that is what this season does. I think people are going to have a conversation about it. We don’t want to be banal or mediocre where everything thinks, “Yeah, it was okay,” or, “Yeah, it was alright.” I think this season is concrete with you either loving or hating it. That’s what is exciting for me. I think it is some of my best work and a lot of the other actors’ best work, I think. There is a lot going on and I think this season, personally, got back to our roots of what the show was originally about the first few seasons. There is a lot going on. A lot going on with Frank’s character. Fiona (Emmy Rossum) is trying to manage. Fiona gets married this season. [I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say that. I don’t care.] I am really looking forward to seeing the reaction. I’m looking forward to having both negative and positive reactions to it. It’s a conversation piece and I love that. There were some seasons that were mediocre a little bit compared to others. But they raised the bar so high – We all raised the bar so high that it is a lot to live up to and I think in Season 6 we live up to it.