Does William H. Macy ever stop working? For an actor who stars in twelve episodes of an hour-long television series per year, Macy still appears in around four movies per year. He explains to The Guardian that he has a lot of reasons to stay so busy, even if he considers stepping back from spending so much time acting. He also explains why he still loves Frank Gallagher so much.
In past years when Shameless goes on hiatus Macy made sure to have a film or another project lined up. However, he confesses that he no longer feels the need to fill his Shameless vacations with other work. He explains, “I’m not so rabid about getting something going in each hiatus any more. First of all, I’m always knackered. I’m gonna need a long lie down after shooting all of this. It’s not nothing, shooting a lot of TV in a very short time, and Shameless has lots of drama, farce and energy. But really, TV has been such a blessing for me. The aforementioned staying at home. I’m pretty sure my family are happy to have me home.” With a chuckle, he adds, “Uh, pretty sure.”
However, Macy admits that he keeps himself busy because he believes he improves with every job. He says, “I love the fact that I work every day. This may sound pretentious, but I am getting better at what I do every day. There is nothing like practice. In the feature film world, there’s so much waiting around and then it’s zero-to-60. Then you grind to a halt all, then it’s zero-to-60. But on TV I’m acting a lot, every day.”
One might think that playing Frank Gallagher for so many seasons on Shameless might take a lot out of Macy, but he’s still thrilled about playing such an unsavory character. He reveals, “I love him. He’s hard-working, let’s give him that. There’s a party wherever he goes. He’s never really hurt anyone badly – well, not too badly. He’s entrepreneurial, he’s living his passion. His raison d’être is to not work. It hasn’t been easy over the years, but he’s learned, and he has never worked. I fuckin’ love him. I’m his best friend. He doesn’t have many friends, just me.”
