INTERVIEW BY IRVIN RIVERA

Shameless had just wrapped-up production after filming their final episode when we did this shoot with ETHAN CUTKOSKY. He literally grew up in the show as Carl Gallagher, whose character’s evolution is a rollercoaster ride of chaos. Carl did a lot of crazy decisions in the show but throughout the years and the seasons, he was able to move forward and grow. 

Ethan Cutkosky’s development as a child actor is fun to watch as he ventures into the other facets of his craft. In 2020, he released 2 songs, “Alone” and “Comprehend.” There’s a lot of promise there and he said that there would be more music dropping soon. He is also busy with his fashion line Khaotic Collective - a brand that aims to spark conversations on a deeper meaning and the curiosities of life and the universe.

Speaking to Ethan would give you the impression that he’s probably an old soul. He acts way beyond his years. Which is not surprising at all because of all the experiences he had. These experiences absolutely taught and honed him to evolve into a better version of himself. This promising young man definitely possesses a heightened sense of self-awareness that keeps him grounded.

Ethan, how are you?

I'm doing well, I'm excited to be here, you know, have some good social contact.

How were you able to ride that wild wave of 2020?

I'm glad that I was able to set up some activities for myself as opposed to acting - where you know, you have to go on auditions, be on set but everything was put on a pause in that industry. I was able to take a focus in working on music that I've always wanted to, working on clothing that I do at home and just kind of taking that step back and just trying to work on those things more creatively from my house and challenging myself to do more and asking myself, what can I do here that doesn't require me to go out?

How did this pandemic affect the filming of Shameless?

Well, I think that right when the pandemic hit in America, it was like March 14th last year and we were two, three days away from filming Shameless, and I think we were all in that little purgatory period of waiting. By the time June had hit, we were like, we don't know when we’ll be coming back yet. I think a lot of it had to do with the industry trying to figure out, alright, how are we going to mitigate all of this? How are we going to get everybody tested? How are we going to get everybody back to work too? And then we ended up coming back around late September. So it seems most of the film industry is back in full swing now.

You mentioned earlier about how you just shot your last episode?

Yes, we just shot our final scene of Episode 12, this past Thursday. It was sad and emotional, but it was good. You know, it's been a long haul, almost six and a half months that we've been shooting since late September.

What was the vibe like on set?

It was very much like ending school. You know, you're excited for it to end but you're also sad that you're leaving all these memories. It's this kind of enticing feeling in the air that you don't know what's going to happen and you don't know what that next job is going to be...you know, trying to figure out these next steps. I'm 21 years old and I started when I was nine. I've been in this loop of it; so it's exciting to take these baby steps to your first steps.