Emma Kenney stated of her fellow Shameless cast members, “We 100% felt like a family, and we still do, we had such a bonding experience.”
The performers’ relationships, she explains, were difficult, much like a family’s.
On the famous Call Her Daddy podcast today, Emma Kenney, now 22, discussed her experiences on the recently concluded Showtime series, including her encounters with co-star Emmy Rossum.
Emma Kenney described her connection with Rossum, who played her sister on the program, as “in both good and terrible aspects” a siblingship.
“We were both so young, I was obviously a lot younger. There were times when she would try to be a good influence and then there were times when she would blatantly give me…not the best advice. Maybe she was struggling with her own inner problems and taking it out on other people. But we all handle situations differently.” Kenney recalled.
“Growing up I took note of — not just from her in particular — things I want to carry on my life and things I don’t want to carry on.”
“I felt that dynamic for sure and I never understood it,” Kenney said when asked whether she felt like she was living in Rossum’s shadow on the program. “I was 9 and she was over 10 years older than me, so I’m like, ‘Why is there a weird competition here when I’m not trying to compete?’ I don’t know if it was other people on set creating that, or if it was her creating it, but I know I wasn’t creating it.”
In 2018, Rossum quit the show, and Emma Kenney stated that “the set became a little bit more of a positive place”
“I remember pre-her leaving, I’d go to set some days and I’d be very anxious about having a scene with her because if she had a bad day, she made it a bad day for everybody. I have a lot of love for Emmy, I’ve known her for so long. We haven’t spoken in years… but that’s okay,” she said. “I have a lot of love for her, and I hope that she finds her happiness”
