Shameless
Showtime’sShamelesscast has multitude who ’ve been around since the beginning , but interestingly , Allison Janney - not Joan Cusack - in the beginning played fan - favorite character Sheila . free-base on the U.K. series of the same name , Shamelessfollows on the Gallagher syndicate , led by sometime sibling Fiona ( Emmy Rossum ) and drug addict father Frank ( William H. Macy ) . There has been a large rotating cast of successful supporting characters onShameless , which included Frank ’s agoraphobic beloved pastime , Sheila , for the first five season .
Both solid - willed and lovably naïve , Sheila was a shaft of optimism in the show ’s other seasons . The mother of oldest son Lip ’s ( Jeremy Allen White ) girlfriend , Karen , she and Macy ’s Frank inexplicably fall in love . When he moved into her pristine home base , Frank upended her life history in the process . Sheila was last seen leaving Chicago in her RV after Frank blew up her home in a brewing stroke in season 5 . Cusack won overShamelessfans throughout those first few seasons . She brought a enatic energy that was equal character caring , vulnerable , and resilient . Her interpersonal chemistry with William H. Macy was powerful enough that audiences believe Sheila might actually be able to redeem Frank . The matter is , Cusack did n’t appear in the originalShamelesspilot .
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Allison Janney was originally cast as Sheila inShameless . At the time , Janney was placeable for her longstanding role onThe West Wingand her screaming execution asMs . buoyant in 1999’s10 Things I detest About You . When Janney filmed theShamelesspilot , Sheila was very much a supporting role . That allowed time in Janney ’s schedule for another resort spear alongside Matthew Perry on ABC’sMr . Sunshine . When the producer ofShamelessdecided to give Sheila a larger role in the South Side escapade , Janney had to choose between the two projects . Her allegiance toMr . Sunshinewon out . Cusack , who grow up just north of Chicago , stepped in to fulfil the part .
Given her original casting , Janney obviously get something particular to Sheila . That ’s no surprise;Janney is a powerful spectacular player , and she ’s evenly enceinte in comedic roles . There ’s no question , though , that Cusack break something to the quality that no one else could . Sheila was the sweet , stable center of Frank ’s world . She bring Sheila ’s electric discharge to life with sonority and charm . Janney would have done something just as singular , but there ’s a harder edge to the actress that would have change Sheila ’s role as the only shining smile inShameless .
Unfortunately for Janney , Mr. Sunshinewas canceled in its first season . That may have been a blessing in retrospect ; Janney cash in one’s chips on to pull ahead two Emmys for her role in sitcomMomand , in 2018 , an Academy Award for her employment in the biopicI , Tonya . There ’s no uncertainty that Janney and Cusack are both brawny actors , open of pathos and charm . No matter what Janney bring toShameless , it would have been a different show with her as Sheila . In the end , Cusack was the veracious choice for the character . Her motherly warmth and believable exposure gaveShamelessthe low-cal touch that it urgently needed .
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